bclma topics · working, the topics newsletter, web-site services, valuable surveys and great...

BY MIKE BOWERBANKBLAKES LLP

lsquoNOrdquo came the sharp answerfrom the IT Managerrsquosmouth when I asked if she

was going to upgrade the OS in herfirm with Microsoft Vista ldquoIt gives usnothing that we needrdquo

But what aboutwhen Microsoftstops supportingWindows XP

ldquoThey wonrsquotrdquothe same personreplied

This IT Profes-sional seems odd-ly confidant thatshe can bend Mi-c r o s o f t t o h e r

whim but perhaps this is because sheis not alone Microsoft Vista was re-leased as a replacement to WindowsXP at the beginning of 2007 and to-daymdashmore than a year latermdashmostlaw firms are continuing to avoid it

Diane Hagglund Senior Analyst atKing Research based in SunnyvaleCalifornia thinks that an industry-ledpushback is underway and that Red-mondrsquos behemoth company had bet-ter listen

She conducted a survey of 961 ITprofessionals and discovered that90 of them were concerned aboutVista migration citing issues such asstability cost and compatibility

Fewer than 1 had fully migratedto Vista while 53 had no plans to de-ploy Vista at all Only 13 of the re-spondents planned to deploy Vista atsome point in the future

The news gets no better for Micro -

TOPICS bull SPRING 2008 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 SPRING 2008

bclmaBritish Columbia Legal Management Association

topicstopicsWhorsquoll blink first Microsoft Vista XP or its customers

The test of wills over Microsoft VistaBCLMA 20078 in review

A great year with another coming upBY DOUG AUSMAN

BCLMA PAST PRESIDENT20078

Wow BCLMArsquos 35th year andmy year as BCLMA Presidenthave so quickly passed

In my incoming message pub-lished here a year ago I noted thatour Association had grown consid-erably Today in April 2008 wehave more than 90 memberfirms and more than 300 in-dividual members Thiswill increase further dur-ing the coming year

I emphasized the servicesthat members receive from theirAssociation numerous subsectionsessions several large educationalseminars the annual conference net-working the Topics newsletter web-site services valuable surveys andgreat social events

I acknowledged the value of fi-nancial sponsors for ourevents and encouragedmore members to volunteerfor various roles essentialto the ongoing services to

our members Allof that too im-proved over theyear

I have been par-t i c u l a r l y i m -pressed with yourAssociationrsquos ac-complishments atthe hands of so

many such vol-unteers By my count there are

over 30 BCLMA member-vol-unteers who keep thingsgoing For example

The October 2008Whistler Conference Under

Construction Building Solutionshas nine individuals on the or-ganizing committee under Alli-son Milroyrsquos leadership

The website-improvement team

BUSINESS TIMEErnie Gauvreau of GowlingLafleur Henderson LLP and

Jane Kennedy BCLMArsquosAdministrator as the 2008

BCLMA Annual GeneralMeeting is about to getunderway in downtown

Vancouver

Mike Bowerbank

A great year Continued on page 6

Doug Ausman

Vista Continued on page 2

Enter to Win

A Starbucks gift card

Provide a response to our latest

lsquoYou be the judgersquo scenario ndash See page 17 for details

soft as the survey continued as 9of the respondents said they had al-ready switched to a non-Microsoft OSto avoid Vista and 25 expected to beswitching to one within the next year

HASTA LA VISTA So what is the big problem with

VistaJoe Wilcox who writes Windows

Watch on the eWeek website notedthat Vista introduces too much com-plexity compared to Windows XP thatXP was ldquogood enoughrdquo that Mi-crosoft had the wrong priorities inVistarsquos design and that ultimatelyVista shipped before it was ready Orperhaps it shipped before the market-place was ready

A quick Internet search revealshundreds of websites with instruc-tions on how to fix Vista bugs andmany suggested necessary hardwareupgrades as well as getting rid ofmost of your other software that issuddenly not compatible with yourPCrsquos new operating system

World-renowned CNET Networks

rated Micro soft Vista as one of its TopTen Terrible Tech Products As it sobluntly put it Vista made the list be-cause ldquoits incompatibility with hard-ware its obsessive requirement of hu-man interaction to clear securitydialogue-box warnings and its abu-

sive use of hated DRM [Digital RightsManagement] not to mention its gen-eral pointlessness as an upgraderdquo

The national American newspaperUSA Today released an article also last


2 Vista Continued from page 1

THE FIRM

GRAH

AMM

ORGA

Ncopy

200

8


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year entitled ldquoVista causes an array ofproblemsrdquo Reporter Andrew Kantorstated that backups crashed and thatusing ldquoshortcuts to search folderscauses Windows Explorer to crash andPhoto Gallery doesnrsquot rotate imagesproperly In short unlike with XPwhen I sit down Irsquom never 100 surethings are going to work properlyrdquo

So with all the howls of protestfrom its customer base Microsoft is re-considering phasing out XP supportright Well not as of this writing

Microsoft points to its sales of 60million Vista licenses but they donrsquotbother to tell you that the overwhelm-ing majority of those millions areshipped out on new PCrsquos not becauseitrsquos the choice of consumers to switch

Itrsquos no coincidence that Dell andLenovo are now shipping Linux onmany of their new desktop PCrsquosDellrsquos customers complained aboutVista and the company listened Itcontinued to use XP and not Vista un-til the end of January 2008 when Mi-crosoft closed the door on XP

When asked about Dell using XP

and not Vista the arrogance from Red-mond was palpable ldquoDell is respond-ing appropriately to a small minorityof customers that had this specific re-questrdquo Microsoft product managerMichael Burk said in a statement

BUENA VISTAThe Network Administrator of an-

other large downtown Vancouverfirm didnrsquot rule out upgrading toVista at some point but stated em-phatically that there are no plans todo so now

ldquoUpgrades to hardware and driverissues with older printersrdquo was onereason he cited coupled with ldquoru-mours that Vista and older AD envi-ronments have problems that wouldneed some investigationrdquo

On the non-technical side the sameAdministrator added that there wasldquono perceivable gainrdquo for the firmldquoUpgrade to Vista and you gethellip acomputer with an OS I have one ofthose right now So I get a little but ittakes great effort and I have tomdashonceagainmdashtake staff through trainingrdquo

I told him that the clock was tickingand that Microsoft would stop sup-

porting XP soon but he dismissed thispredicting Microsoft would ldquocome to asad realizationrdquo picking up a linefrom an Apple vs Windows ad Hepoints to a new service pack for XPpending as proof that perhaps Mi-crosoft is getting the message He doesnot however rule out an eventual up-grade to Vista but says that ldquolack ofcurrent return [on investment] is mak-ing me think lsquoNot right nowrsquo ldquo

Vista is not dead and most compa-nies will eventually migrate to it butwith any luck Microsoft has learneda lesson for future releases Vistaneeds some serious processing powerand newer hardware to work proper-ly and with budgets already strainedthat was a large leap Redmond want-ed its customers to take all at once

Why would Microsoft do thatSpending five or six years on a prod-uct is a long time to go without rev-enue returns Yet the product screamsof being rushed to market and sadlyit is the market that suffers for itShort-term profit seemed to be moreon Microsoft minds than shipping agood product

Linux anyone



Dependability Dedication ExperienceNo matter the discipline the demands

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honing our skills chiseling out the very

definition of what it means to be the best in

WORLD CLASS OFFICE SOLUTIONS

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multifunction systems bull colour bull high volume bull fax machines bull printers bull scanners

What it takes to be a

CHAMPION

Mult i funct ion Colour

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copy2007 Ricoh Canada Inc

BCLMArsquos Annual General Meet-ing was held on April 2 at the of-fices of Fasken Martineau Du-

Moulin LLPEighteen Association members at-

tended the lunch meeting as our20078 President Doug Ausmanchaired the meeting Doug provideda report on the past year which in-cluded such highlights as Our current membership status

93 Member Firms and 310 societymembers

The year-end Financial StatementCurrent copies of the financial state-ments are always available fromour Treasurer Angela Zarowny

The highly successful Fresh Trackseducational conference at Whistler

The new Mentor Program To ac-cess the complete list of Mentorsgo to the home page of our web-site and click on the Mentor but-ton Our websitersquos address is onthe bottom of each page of Topics

Website review and plans for up-dates plus

Our largest holiday social everheld at Bridges on Granville Island

COMING UP IN 2008The Association has enjoyed great

success over the past year and its mo-mentum continues to build as manyinitiatives are already under way The 2008 educational conference

will be held at the Westin Hotel ampSpa in Whistler October 23ndash25

Nine volunteers currently com-prise the Conference Committee

Several vendors have alreadypledged their support to the Oc-tober conference

The annual Summer Social is lessthan two months away Itrsquos set forJune 5

The annual Holiday Party venue

is already booked for December4th at a terrific venue that willbring another outstanding show-ing of BCLMA members and theirguests as well as sponsoringvendors

Doug thanked all of the volunteerswho have donated so much of theirtime over the past year making manyevents successful

In particular Doug welcomed BobWaterman back to the BCLMA foldHaving returned from Calgary towork as the full-time Administratorat Richards Buell Sutton Bob is thenew Chair of the Topics EditorialCommittee and reports directly tothe Executive Board on newsletterprogress and developments


6

led by Gary Carter is activelyprogressing

Several directors and membersare working on various impor-tant surveys including the Eco-nomic Survey Staff Salary Sur-vey Disbursements SurveyLawyer Staff Ratio Surveyand Irsquoll be pleased to lead thebi-annual Membersrsquo Surveythis Fall

Your new President StephanieCornell and former PresidentErnie Gauvreau are investigat-ing collaborative efforts withthe international Association ofLegal Administrators

Angela Zarowny continues asshe has for many years to han-dle the Treasurerrsquos function

Bob Waterman is the new Chairof the Topics newsletter Editori-al Committee

Ten members who recentlyvolunteered to serve as men-tors have their contact infor-mation posted in the Ask a Men-tor section of our website and

A number of great volunteerschair or co-chair subsectionsthat provide an array of inform-ative and developmental oppor-tunities for so many members

A year ago I thought beingBCLMA President was going to be apretty tough job

It has not beenMy work while considerable in

volume has been made really quiteeasy by the support and share-the-work attitude continuously demon-strated by Directors Ernie Gau-vreau Allison Milroy StephanieCornell Gary Carter and our Ad-ministrator Jane Kennedy

I must express my sincerethanks to them for their supportWe all owe them and all of ourother volunteers a debt of grati-tude for another great year forBCLMA I truly look forward toworking with the 20089 Board inmy capacity as Past President

And thank you to all BCLMAmembers for your supportthroughout this past year it hasbeen a great experience that Irsquom sopleased I did not miss

We have a great year plannedfor events and services includingmany fun times please join us inmaking it another successful yearfor BCLMA

Doug Ausman 20078 BCLMAPresident Chief Operating OfficerRatcliff amp Company LLP North Vancouver

Annual General Meeting

Stephanie Cornell elected BCLMA PresidentCommittee formed for 2008 Conference

A GIFT OF THANKSStephanie Cornell presents Doug Aus-man with a token of appreciation forhis accomplishments as President forBCLMArsquos 20078 fiscal year

Annual General Meeting Continued on page 7

A good year Continued from page 1


7We are also pleased to announce

the 2008 Conference Committee Allison Milroy Conference Chair Lorraine Burchynsky Boughton Natasha Chetty Harper Grey Gillian Crabtree Edwards Kenney

amp Bray Stephen Hinds Lang Michener Brenda Johnson Edwards Kenny

amp Bray Leslee Loree Lang Michener Sue Naidu Watson Goepel Maledy Kevin Peers Bull Housser Tupper

Our Survey Program will continueto be undertaken by these volunteers Annual Salary Survey Raf Sansa-

lone of Borden Ladner Gervais

October release Annual Economic Survey Sandy

Delayen of Bull Housser TupperApril release

Associates Survey Penny Harvie ofFasken Martineau May release

Staff Ratio Survey Ann Johnston ofBHT released every two years

Membership Survey Doug Ausmanof Ratcliff amp Co Released everytwo years and

Disbursement Survey To be deter-mined November 2009 release

Membership criteria was the maintopic of business After an interactivediscussion a motion was passed thathelped to expand the definition of aMember Firm Full Member and Associ-ate (or Subsection) Member

While the motion was approvedthe discussion created an opportuni-ty for further consideration Allmembers will be kept informed ofany further developments in this re-gard Yoursquoll find the revised bylawsin the Members Only section of theBCLMA websitemdashclick on Mission andBylaws

Having met all current member-ship criteria the following individu-als were acclaimed to the 20089BCLMA Executive Board Stephanie Cornell President Doug Ausman Past President Gary Carter Director Ann Johnston Director Evenna Liu Director Barb Marshall Director Jan Whyte Director

Two Board officer positions re-main unchanged Angela Zarowny Treasurer Jane Kennedy Administrator

As outgoing Past President ErnieGauvreau volunteered to provide adhoc services as a consultant Ernie hasa wealth of knowledge and expertiseto provide to the BCLMA We ac-knowledge the value he brings to thegroup

This group represents the largestExecutive in several years We areencouraged by the contributions ourmembers provide to their col-leagues and the association at largeHowever we still have one seatopen President-Elect Interestedcandidates should contact our newPresident Stephanie Cornell forfurther information

As the AGM was about to closeDoug passed the Presidentrsquos gavel toStephanie In appreciation for his ex-ceptional contributions Stephaniepresented Doug with a bottle ofwine along with a leather case forhis new personal laptophellip not thatwe would recommend he work onhis holidays

The BCLMA is poised for anothersuccessful year If you have any ques-tions concerns suggestions or ideasfeel free to contact any one of theBoard Members or Subsection Lead-ers located on the last page of everyissue of Topics

We look forward to spending timewith you and anticipate an excit-ing 20089

BUILDING THE BYLAWSJay Cathcart of Farris Vaughan Wills amp Murphy LLP comments during discussionof the new bylaws as Jan Whyte of Murphy Battista considers the point

PHRASING THE COINBob Waterman of RBS Evenna Liu of Oyen Wiggs and Barb Marshall of FaskenMartineau review the annual BCLMA financial statements at the AGM

Annual General Meeting Continued from page 6


8

BY PETER MORGANMORGAN NEWSLETTERS

Red tape time constraints and of-fice politics are the biggest de-tractors from work for em-

ployed CanadiansIn fact according to a new workplace

study from the Royal Bank of Canada(RBC) that rated the items those threemay be far greater barriers to productiv-ity than they were 10 years ago

The RBC Survey conducted by Ip-sos Reid and entitled The Competitionfor Canadian Talent shows that 41 ofworking Canadians say it is red tapeand bureaucracy that most gets in theway of their ability to do their job

This is a significant change from1998 according to the researcherswhen only 26 of the working popula-tion agreed that rules and regulationsimpeded their personal productivity

Also noteworthy is that office politics(36) and gossip (31) are greater an-noyances than they were a decade agowhen they were only about half that at19 and 18 respectively ldquoI would liketo think employers have gotten betternot worse when it comes to office prac-tices but these results say otherwiserdquosays Christianne Paris RBCrsquos vice-pres-ident of Recruitment and Learning

ldquoPolicies and procedures are ab-solutely necessary in order to be suc-cessfulrdquo she adds ldquobut itrsquos evidentmany employers need to do thingsdifferently in order to engage em-ployees more effectivelyrdquo

Canadians most likely to agree redtape and bureaucracy impede theirability to do their jobs are likely to be Employed full-time (44) Aged 45 to 65 (44) and Male (45 versus 36 of females)

According to the survey thosemost likely to feel that office politics(36) are an impediment to work aremore likely to be Older aged 45 to 65 (39) In junior positions (38 versus

31 in senior positions) and Those earning between $80000

and $100000 (53) per yearldquoTherersquos no telling whether the

roadblocks have become more of a

nuisance or workers have become lesstolerantrdquo noted Paris ldquoWhat is cer-tain is that therersquos tremendous poten-tial for improvement so that workers

can get their work done and employ-ers can achieve maximum resultsrdquo

Ipsos Reid conducted the on-linepoll between November 5 and No-vember 15 Itrsquos a randomly selectedsample of 2052 Canadian full- andpart-time workers The statisticallyweighted results are accurate +-22 19 times out of 20

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Human resources

Barriers to productivity keep getting higher

Red tape and bureaucracy 26 41

Not enough time 40

Lack of resources 39

Unclear expectations 38

Office politics 19 36

Gossip 18 31

Insufficient independence to make decisions 28

Boss or Manager 15 24

Computer or Network Systems 10 22

Lack of privacy 10 22

Too many meetings 12 19

Voice Mail and E-mail 10 17

DETRACTOR FACTOR 1998 NOW

BY TIM WURTZBAKER NEWBY LLP

If you can think of a law firm processyou can outsource it Professional re-cruitment HR manage-

ment market research facili-ties management documentreproduction services ITsupport dictation are just afew Now that list even in-cludes legal services

Almost every conceiv-able facet of our day-to-dayinternal operations can beoutsourced to a third party

Plenty of businessesmdashand new ones are poppingup all the timemdashclaim theycan reduce a firmrsquos admin-istrative overhead increaseefficiency and providehigher quality services atlower prices

The mere notion of out-sourcing may cause a knee-jerk reaction either as anadvocate or critic based ononersquos political ideology andpropensity to either em-brace or oppose the trendstowards globalization

Regardless of your per-sonal bias itrsquos worth re-flecting on some economicprinciples when consider-ing outsourcing officeprocesses a couple argu-ments from both critics andadvocates and the quicklyemerging trend towardsoutsourcing legal servicesthat will aid your business decisions

DO WE OR DONrsquoT WEYou first need to determine the de-

cision criteria for which you are pro-posing the outsourcing alternative Isthis primarily to increase profits mdash bydecreasing expenses mdash or improveclient service andor the quality ofthe legal service provided Ideally itis a hybrid of the two rememberingthat in an innovative environment

the common denominator drivingbusiness decisions is improving thevalue our clients receive

Outsourcing can be viewed just likepurchasing an asset (an employee vs

an outside contract) Procuring assetscontains hidden costs that are ever sopresent during your decision-makingprocess to outsource Search Costs in-clude your initial efforts to prepareand solicit RFPs and do your own re-search to ensure you will be gettingthe services you require NegotiatingCosts includes ensuring you receive afair price to actually realize cost sav-ings and Monitoring Costs includes

your on-going ef-forts to ensureconsistent qualityThese initial in-vestments shouldall be consideredwhen determiningthe overall benefitto your firm

My universityECON 410 profes-

sor would be proud to know Iam citing my own notes thatrecall ldquoWhen an input haswell-defined and measurablequality characteristics and re-quires specialized invest-ments the optimal procure-ment method is a contract Acontract reduces the likeli-hood of opportunistic behav-iour and underinvestment bycreating a legal obligation be-tween the firmsrdquo

There are well-definedqualitative and quantitativecharacteristics that can be easi-ly seen in many areas whereoutsourcing among law firmshas become common

Professional-recruitmentfirms typically employ acontingency-fee arrange-ment Itrsquos easy for account-ing and easy to budgetbased on expected new hiresfor the year For document-reproduction services a firmcan identify historical dis-bursement costs overheadallocation and staffing costsall to make a case for oragainst outsourcing thiscommon administrativefunction

On the flip side conven-tional economic wisdom tellsus that as specificity rises

you should bring the process in-house by say vertically integratingor hiring new expertise

Common areas where law firmshave adopted this practice include ITservices where the smooth operationof the firmrsquos computer systems is crit-ical to business operations and HRservices where the personal relation-ships developed between HR man-


9Infrastructure in Canada to contract out legal services

You might already be facing low-costcompetition from legal work done in Asia India

Outsourcing Continued on page 10

TIME TO CONSIDER LEGAL OUTSOURCINGThe next frontier of outsourcing is our actual legal servicesLegal Process Outsourcing is the industry in which lawfirms outsource legal work to countries where it can beperformed at a significantly lower cost

Tim Wurtz

agers and staff hold intrinsic value inthe firmrsquos culture

Colin Cameron Chief OperatingOfficer at Clark Wilson LLP pro-posed three key questions when con-sidering whether to outsource hisfirmrsquos photocopying services Are we going to save money Are we going to get better service Do we have staffing issues

The answer to all three he sayswas either ldquoNordquo or negligible at bestHe recognized that ldquoif you have theright people doing a good job there isno reason to make a changerdquo Headded that ldquoonly if there are realproblems would we then look at out-sourcing as a possible alternativerdquo

A firm should be careful to stay in-house with functions that simply re-quire better delegation communica-tion or technology

Therein lies a principal criticism ofoutsourcing it does not actually ad-dress any underlying problems Ifyour primary basis for outsourcing isan issue with certain staff in a particu-lar department the real problem is an

HR issue which may indicate prob-lems with your firmrsquos compen-sation HR management staffor the work environmentSolving these fundamentalissues will likely have agreater impact on yourfirmrsquos efficiency than sim-ply changing the problemthrough outsourcing

Advocates for all levels of business-process outsourcing stand by the claimthat it allows you to focus on your corecompetencies and boost your bottomline But what if it is now these estab-lished core competencies that are thetarget for outsourcing proponents

OUR FUTUREThe next frontier of outsourcing is

our actual legal services LegalProcess Outsourcing (LPO) is the in-dustry in which law firms outsourcelegal work to countries where it canbe performed at a significantly lowercost primarily in India LPO in-cludes but is not limited to legal re-search document drafting and para-legal services

RR Donnelley a firm operating as

Office Tiger is a provider of full-ser-vice business-process out-

sourcing Its director of legalservices Jason Brennansuggests that ldquoas the glob-al marketplace becomesincreasingly competitive

corporations are beingforced to streamline opera-

tions and cut costs in order tomaintain profitability Law firms aresubject to increasing pressure fromtheir clients to reduce costs and main-tain profits per partner These factorshave given them an incentive to lookat alternative sourcing methodsrdquo

Already a major phenomenon inthe US and UK LPO is beginningto infiltrate Canadian law firms Sig-nificant literature and internet refer-ence sites are appearing and in factthere are now entire legal conferencesdedicated to this topic

Cameron noted he recently turnedhis mind to the prospect of legal out-sourcing after casually discussing theidea a year ago

Until recently only US compa-


10Outsourcing Continued from page 9


nies offered such services and confi-dentiality issues were very much aconcern Cameron referred me to anarticle in Business in Vancouver(March 4-10 Issue 958) that intro-duced Legalwise Outsourcing a newcompany that is dubbing itself as thefirst in Canada to offer outsourcinglegal services to Canadian Law firms

When pondering LPO it would beprudent to reconsider the same crite-ria your firm has developed for deter-mining if administrative processesshould be outsourced

Remember those questions weasked a few moments ago Here arethe first two ldquoAre we going to save moneyrdquo

seems the easiest question to an-swer affirmatively

ldquoAre we going to get better serv-icerdquo seems to be the most subjec-tive criteria at this time

Advocates for LPO to India citetwo common perceptions they claimare myths That foreign lawyers lack the

skills and aptitude to handle high-

end legal work for the West and That ldquoYou get what you pay forrdquo

or in other words ldquolow costequals low qualityrdquo

Successes in the US and UK seemto validate the quality of service theyhave been receiving The third ques-tion we askedmdashldquoDo we have staffingissuesrdquomdashalso seems to be tending to-ward an affirmative response

The bottom line according toCameron is that the decision to out-source legal services is simply beingdriven by our demographic shortageof workers between 30 and 50 andthat there are not enough goodyoung lawyers entering our domesticworkforce LPO is a potential alterna-tive ldquoThis is a business not unlikeothersrdquo he remarks ldquoYou need to gowhere labour is cheapest to remaincompetitiverdquo

Cameron feels LPO wouldnrsquothave a significant impact on currentin-house staffing LPO could initial-ly be introduced as a back-up serv-icemdasha night shift so to speak Fur-thermore he suggests that thiscould ldquolevel the playing field forsmaller firms who wonrsquot need an

army of people in-houserdquoConventional economic wisdom

suggests that outsourcing legal serv-ices seems to go against the hypothe-sis that you should preserve the spe-cialized functions of your firm thatbring value to a client

However it is our responsibility tobe aware of emerging trends and tobe able to present business alterna-tives that will increases our firmrsquosprofitability while protecting the qual-ity of and respect for our services

FINAL WORDTo assist your firm in deciding

which processes would be appropri-ate to outsource you can engage theservices of companies that developBusiness Continuity Management(BCM) models to manage outsourc-ing in a structured way

BCM consists of a set of steps tosuccessfully identify manage andcontrol business processes that are (orcan be) outsourced maximizing posi-tive outcomes minimizing risks andavoiding threats

So you can even outsource yourdecision to outsource Go figure


11

ldquoAs it really turns out upgrades arenrsquot an issue at all

We always thought that taking advantage of the BC Land Title and Survey

Authorityrsquos Electronic Filing System would be a technical nightmare

In reality implementing Electronic Filing is straightforward and simple

All it takes is a computer a BC Online account Adobe Acrobat and a scanner

Now with no couriers to wait for the ease of sending land title and survey

documents online and the ability to fi le after business hours Irsquom glad we

made the switch to Electronic Filingrdquo

Electronic Filing takes more IT upgrades than we can justify

ldquordquo

innovation trustintegrity

For more information please call BC Online at 1ndash800ndash663ndash6102

or visit wwwltsaca

Outsourcing Continued from page 10

BY GARY MITCHELLGEM COMMUNICATIONS

Yoursquoll recall in the Fall 2007 issueof Topics I discussed the lsquowallrsquoin the context of exchanging

ideas Here is another aspect of the

lawyer wall engagement and imple-mentation Have you come up againstit when trying to implement new pro-grams policies or approaches

Have you ever had a plan that hasbeen approved and then when youtry to act upon it it stalls

You are not alone Engaginglawyers and implementing newideas programs policies or ap-proaches is a chal-lenge most lawf irm managersface Here are afew ways you canbring down thew a l l a n d g e tthings done

GET YOURMANAGINGPARTNER ONSIDE

Before any newin i t ia t ive youwould ideally en-sure your manag-ing partner is on-side with yourv i s i o n a n d i sbacking your ap-proach

Now i f youknow for a factthis wonrsquot happenand still feel strongly that your plan isimperative then skip this step (fornow) and come back to it once youhave some proven results

START TO ENGAGE BY FIRSTGETTING TO KNOW YOUR LAWYERS

This may seem obvious howeverfrom my experience the marketersand administrators I know that havebeen able to engage and implementnew things within their firms know

their lawyers well So get to know

what they like anddonrsquot like theirstrengths and theirweaknesses theircareer goals andwhat motivatesthem to reachthose goals It maytake some time forthe trust and bond between you anedeach of them to build so be patientand it will pay off down the road

IDENTIFY EARLY ADOPTERSGetting to know your lawyers bet-

ter will help you identify early

adopters Choose people at variouslevels within the firm but know thatmost of the change will be led by peo-ple in the middle senior associatesand junior partners since they aremore likely to embrace change

This first group should includecurrent and soon-to-become practicegroup leaders

For reasons you are about to seeitrsquos important to build this momen-

tum with lawyers who have influ-ence who are respected within thefirm

How will you know who they areThey will be driven in their careersand therefore willing to take on newapproaches to achieve their goalsThey will be willing to do things dif-ferently And in some cases theymay even be willing to postpone theircompensation for it

The important thing is that theycan see the future and are willing toget ahead of it

ENSURE THEIR SUCCESSGive them what they need to suc-

ceed This may include outside con-sultants or coaches Rememberthese lawyers will be leading changeand that is not easy In many casesthey will be entering uncharted ter-ritory It is imperative that they suc-ceed to move your program to the

next stage

DONrsquoT GO ITALONE

Seek other like-minded managerswho are onsidewith your vision

Engage them inthe process andlook to them tohelp identify theappropriate peo-ple to pilot thesenew programs

If you are theonly one leadingthis change youare more likely tobe thought of as arebel or an out-sider

Create a team ofpeople willing to

support you there is strength in numbers

MEASURE SUCCESSHave a system in place to measure

success Be able to answer What haschanged How has this impacted thebottom line How has this affectedclient retention How has it affectedyour talent retention Are more


12

DRAW OUT THE PEOPLE YOU NEED TO START THE PROCESSGetting to know your lawyers better will help you identify early adoptersChoose people at various levels within the firm but assume that most ofthe change will be led by people in the middle mdash senior associates and jun-ior partners mdash since they are more likely to embrace change

How to get past a project wall

Engage and Implement Are they four-letter words at your firm

Gary Mitchell

Engage amp implement Continued on page 13

ALEX

EYKL

EMEN

TIEV

13


lawyers effectively engaged in busi-ness development Are more practicegroup leaders owning accountabilityYou will need this information later

If you donrsquot already have an ana-lytical software program in place Ihighly recommend getting one

ARTICULATE SUCCESSResults have a wonderful way of

influencing change Decidewho needs to know whatand when and then articu-late it Be clear on what hasbeen accomplished andhow and why it makessense Express the meas-urements and how they af-fect the various outcomesyou desire Regular andconsistent communicationabout results will make orbreak your longer term vision

CONDUCT A SECOND PILOTBuilding on the success of the first

pilot choose the next group oflawyers to work with

Go to another practice group orsmall group of individual lawyersYou are now looking for the nextwave of early adoptersmdashlawyerswho will embrace changes now thatthey have seen others enjoy success

Follow the same steps as outlinedabove Seek the support of the firstgroup of lawyers to help identify andmentor this second group They willbe able to provide valuable adviceand support

You will begin to notice organicteams developing As like-mindedlawyers begin to work with each oth-er they will be speaking the samelanguage and following the same approaches

GET BUY IN FROM THE FIRMrsquoS MANAGEMENT

You may have already includedyour managing partner at the onsetof this program

If notmdashand you were waiting forresults firstmdashstart with them nowDemonstrate the value of the pro-gram with the results you have al-ready achieved Get their buy-inThen have your managing partner

present the program to the managingcommittee or whoever the decisionmakers are at your firm

RESULTSWhen all of this is established you

have a vision a clear roadmap ofhow to get there an army of generalson your side to champion the causealong with results and proof

It will be difficult for them not tocome onside especially knowing that

there is a growing demand for thisnew way rising within their firm as aresult of the success you have al-ready achieved

ARTICULATE SUCCESS FIRM WIDENow you are ready to articulate

success to the entire firm Success hasbeen achieved and you will noticethat behaviour is infectious

Once a number of your practicegroup leaders junior partners andassociates begin to behave different-lymdashpositively and with proven re-sultsmdashmore lawyers within the firmwill want to adopt a similar ap-proach The buy-in factor will greatlyincrease

ARTICULATE THE VISIONIn preparing to roll out the pro-

gram or programs on a firm-wide ba-sis it is imperative that everyone un-derstands the value propositionhere

Itrsquos time to share the vision or thebig picture Design it so that everymember of your team can see them-selves in this new model

They understand what it willmean for their own practice and ca-reer They will see the results andhave witnessed the change in behav-iour among their peers

Champion the early adoptersthroughout your firm as examples of

what are possible they are your newrole models

Some of them will even emerge asthe next generation of leadership andnot only support your vision forchangemdashthey will demand it Yourearly adopters will lead the changeefforts you will not be alone

IMPLEMENT YOUR PROGRAMYou have proven results You

have built your army and you haveyour generals aka practice-group leaders in place tochampion the cause

Now the firm at large willbe far more prepared to ac-cept change You can rollout your program on a larg-er scale with the full confi-dence that from demonstrat-ing success in incrementalstages and with continuouscommunication throughout

the program the results will be fargreater than had you tried this fromthe beginning all on your own

If not already in place policychanges will be a lot easier to makenow that a greater number of yourlawyers will have changed their behaviour

SEA CHANGEIn most cases in my experience

policies or approaches initiated on alarge scale almost always fail

When you are talking about get-ting people to do things differentlyit requires behavioural change Be-havioural change does not happenovernight

Think of it like a political cam-paign Build the foundation by start-ing with a small group of people pi-lot these new ideas and approacheswith your early adopters

At this stage donrsquot make it a bigdeal keep it under the radar until re-sults have been proven Plant theseeds of change without upsettingthe apple cart and look forward toharvest time

Gary Mitchell is Managing Directorof GEM Communications a firm spe-cializing in business training for lawyersand law firms He can be reached at6046695235 orE-mail GaryGemCommunicationsca

Engage amp Implement Continued from page 12AL

EXEY

KLEM

ENTI

EV

BY ANTONIO ZIVANOVICCORPORATE OCCUPATIONAL

SOLUTIONS INC

Where does a company begin toaddress the health and wellness

needs of a multi-generational work-force What programs provide thegreatest return on investment

Which generation of worker per-ceives health and wellness programsdesigned to promote workndashlife bal-ance as a need Which generationperceives them as a perk

Each of those fascinating questionswould take a book to answer so herewersquoll shed some light on some of theareas that will assist firms to seek outthe best for their bottom line and theiremployees

Researchers see current organiza-tional cultures as comprising four dif-ferent generations Traditionalists those born before

1946 Baby Boomers those born between

1946 and 1964 Gen-Xers those born between 1964

and 1977 Millennials those born after 1977

Traditionalists and Millennialsmake up the smallest portion of thecurrent workforce and Baby Boomersthe largest This unprecedented work-force composition can pose significantchallenges to increasing employee engagement

Each generation (and each individ-ual) has a unique perspective on theorganization and on what othersthink about their needs and wants

All four groups have diverse ex-pectations different ways of workingand wide-ranging views on the im-portance of workplace health andwellness programs

These are not self-isolating groupshowever Millennials have beenknown to work well with Traditional-ists as both types greatly respect whatthe other brings to the table Tradi-tionalists typically have wisdom bornof experience but are now less adeptat change whereas Millennialsmdashtech-

savvy and highlyprepared forchange mdashlack theinvaluable experi-ence that enhancesskills

Here are sixtips to increaseemployee engage-ment using healthand wellness ini-tiatives

GET THE RIGHT PEOPLE ON THEBUS

Jim Collins in his book Good toGreat uses the analogy of a bus to de-

scribe the formation of a great teamldquoThe executives who ignited thetransformations from good to greatdid not first figure out where to drivethe bus and then get people to take itthere No they first got the right peo-ple on the bus (and the wrong peopleoff the bus) and then figured out

where to drive itrdquo Even though there is a demonstrat-

ed return of $5 for every $1 investedin employee health and wellness pro-grams many organizations still fail tograsp the importance of these pro-grams

Merely talking to employeesabout workndashlife balance offeringthe odd workshop and occasionalon-site activity is seen as lip servicewhich in the eyes of its employeeseventually damages the credibilityof the organization thatrsquos arrangingthe service delivery

The people on a corporate health-and-wellness decision team need torespond effectively to real needs andwants

This team must include manage-ment workers and administrators aswell as a consultant who can assist infostering the teamrsquos developmentmdash

beginning with an effective gap-analysis right through to the evalua-tion of the programs in place Thatway the ROI is clear to the employeras well as to the workforce


14Transfer of knowledge and work life

Six tips to increase employee engagement in a multi-generational workplace

Intergenerational Continued on page 15

AntonioZivanovic

THE GENERATION TRANSMISSIONEach generation (and each individual) has a unique perspective on the or-ganization and on what others think about their needs and wants All fourgroups have diverse expectations different ways of working


15 ASSESS THE FIRMrsquoS CULTURE

Historically data mining and as-sessment tools have used rigid meas-urement techniques that produceambiguous results The outcomes aresubject to interpretation and call forrepeated ldquonecessaryrdquo follow-upsUnfortunately these assessmenttechniques do not fully identify yourcompanyrsquos needs wants strengthsand weaknesses

The tools used to assess the orga-nizational culture must considermulti-generational perspectives andprovide measurable clear informa-tion about the areas a firm shouldtarget in order to provide the mostsignificant return on investment andto ensure employees are engaged

DETERMINE WHAT MEASURESPAY OFF IN INCREASEDENGAGEMENT

The advent of the post-industrialera changed the workplace dramati-cally for many Canadians For themthe information era largely shiftedthe focus from physical labour tohours of computer work

The market is fluid with employ-ees leaving firms to join their com-petitors more often than beforeMany Gen-Xers and even more Mil-lennials investigate prospective em-ployers for health-and-wellness pro-grams

They consider these services a nec-essary part of their employmentpackage and will continue to in-crease their expectations as theylearn more about the available serv-ices On the other hand BabyBoomers and Traditionalists until re-cently rarely had such services ifever and tend to view the offeringsas luxuries or perks

Interestingly it is commonly aTraditionalist or Baby Boomer mak-ing the companyrsquos decisions aboutimplementing such programs Herelies the problem many Gen-Xers andMillennials see responses to theirneeds determined by those who tendto view health-and-wellness pro-grams as a perk not as a necessity Awell-designed program may be aperk but it also provides significantmeasurable financial benefits to the

company so itrsquos hardly a luxuryThe solution to this problem is

simple decision makers of any gen-eration can confidently identify theparticular ROI for the desired servic-es by using a consultant familiar withmeasuring the results of various pro-gram initiatives

Everyone wins The employeesare healthier more productive andhappier while health-related expen-ditures and losses due to presen-teeism the opposite to absenteeismbut which can have just as substan-tial negative effect are decreased

ADD AN ELEMENT OF FRIENDLYCOMPETITION

There are always one or two peo-ple in a firm everyone recognizes ascompetitive Perhaps the firm couldfoster a few more Creating friendlycompetition within the workplace of-ten works well

Such competition must be focusedon personal and company goalsthough

For instance try providing incen-tives for the ldquotop-performingrdquo per-son or for the ldquomost improvedrdquo manand woman to reach the goal of saya 10 overall improvement in onersquospersonal health and wellness per-formance from a previous baseline

CREATE A COLLABORATIVEWORKPLACE

Many junior associates express astrong desire for increased emphasison effective mentoring

Millennials for instance seek col-laborative workplaces and appreci-ate the wisdom shared by more sen-ior employees A company could

provide modest financial incentivesand a recognition program for in-house mentors People need to knowthey are valued and appreciate hon-est recognition for their efforts

Matching good mentors with theright juniors can be expected to bene-fit the firm the clients and all theworkers if only by improving thetransfer of knowledge

This fosters the development of an

Trusted

Cost-Savings

Specialists

Excelera Consulting Group will

bull Identify significant measurable

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WWWEXCELERACA bull 604-990-7786


Intergenerational Continued from page 14

The 2008 BCLMAEducationalConference

October 23mdash25

The Westin Resort amp Spa Whistler BC

Contact Jane Kennedy atmembershipbclmaorg

for numeroussponsorship and

volunteer opportunities

optimal workplace that increases thecompanyrsquos ability to grow changemdashand prosper

INCREASE ORGANIZATIONALIDENTIFICATION

Organizational identification is thedegree to which a member definesthemselves by the same attributesthat they believe define the organiza-tion according to research by JEDutton et al in their 1994 paper Or-ganizational Images and Member Identi-ficationrdquo Associates at a firm increasetheir organizational identificationwhen they feel that the organizationconsiders their needs and wantswhen setting goals

There are many initiatives a com-pany can adopt that will resonatewith its workforce For example con-sider what corporate social responsi-bility means to the workforce

How can the company fulfill itsmission vision and core values whileenhancing employee commitment

The contemporary workforce is in-creasingly cognizant of the value ofcorporate social responsibility (CSR)It is becoming apparent that fosteringa balanced social environmental andeconomic community enhances afirmrsquos culture while providing a sig-nificant return on investment

A firmrsquos first priority may be to pro-vide exemplary service to its clientsbut it must also have a sincere commit-ment to the personal and professional

growth of its employees while expect-ing responsible and ethical work prac-tices in return When a firm is commit-ted to business practices that are bothsocially and environmentally respon-sible attracting and retaining employ-ees who value these practices will reapquantifiable rewards

For example we know that compa-nies that develop strategies to choosesustainable products and processes toreduce their carbon footprint andseek to create partnerships with like-minded companies attract innovativeworkers who broadcast these initia-tives proudly That positions the com-pany as a CSR leader

Well-integrated health-and-well -ness initiatives enhance the profile ofa company in a similar fashion andas many associates seeking a poten-tial employer know they also in-crease the attractiveness of a firmrsquos of-fer of employment substantially morethan that of a competitor withoutsuch services

ConclusionWe would all love to wake up in

the morning feeling eager to workstrongly identifying with our workrsquosorganization and initiatives Most ofus value the diverse perspectives of amulti-generational workforce We are

optimistic that with the rightteam to champion a cause we can

move from good to great It is vital that companies assess the

needs and wants of their employeesand be open-minded about the re-sources available to them for recruitingand retaining outstanding talent A keyresource is a comprehensive work-place health-and-wellness program

I urge you to commit to seeing yourbusiness benefit fiscally socially andculturally from such programs andwork for the day when health andwellness programs that are proven toenhance employee well-being and or-ganizational excellence are no longerviewed as luxuries but necessities

Antonio Zivanovic is President of Cor-porate Occupational Solutions Inc aworkplace health amp wellness servicesprovider Prior to launching his own firmAntonio was a consultant for leading pub-lic and private sector firms across CanadaE-mail him at antoniocosincca or visithis website at lthttpwwwcosinccagt


16 Intergenerational Continued from page 15

BCLMArsquos AnnualSummer Social

Swing Into SummerBarbecue

Thursday June 5 530pm onwards

Brock House Restaurant 3875 Point Grey Road

Vancouver

ldquoWhile accommodatingthe needs of a four-generation workforce

does pose certain challengesit also creates an unprecedented opportunityNever before have younger generations beenso well poised to learn from their older peersSupporting the exchange of that knowledge

is essentialrdquo mdash Terry West 2007

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

Bonus Three respondents will be randomly chosen toreceive a $10 Starbucks card Your response remains100 anonymous unless you attach your E-Business Sig-nature with your text Even if you identify yourself to usto be entered into the draw your participation will re-main anonymous to our readers We wonrsquot publish yourname neither as a respondent nor as a winner

Paula Butler is a sole practioner who specializes inlabour and employment law from her office in West Van-couver

THE CASE OF BEATRICE amp JIM

You are the Accounting Manager at Dunhill amp Gideon Bar-risters amp Solicitors Last September you hired Jim Johnson a

young accounting clerk Jimreports to Beatrice Allisonwho is known to be a toughand demanding supervisorBeatrice starts complainingabout Jim almost rightaway saying that he isldquoslow and lazyrdquo You cantell by Jimrsquos demeanour atwork that he is not happyand that he seems to resentBeatrice Today your assis-tant came in to your office totell you to look at a web ad-dress which turned out to befor Jimrsquos blog On the blogyou see that the latest entryis titled ldquoWorking at Dumb-bell and Idiot Barristers ampSolicitorsrdquo The entry is Jimrsquos description of working at a ldquosweat-shoprdquo with a bunch of ldquoboneheadsrdquo at ldquoDumbbell and Idiotrdquo Jimalso writes a paragraph about being a ldquoslaverdquo to his ldquobitchrdquo of aboss ldquoBeatus Allthetimerdquo who makes his life miserable It is clearto you that anyone associated with the legal community wouldknow exactly who Jim talking about

What do you do in this situation

RESPONSE OFF WITH HIS HEADI would probably look to fire Jim with an appropriate

severance relative to ldquolast Septemberrdquo While Beatrice isdemanding she is likely more key to operations than Jim


17YOU BE THE JUDGEOur new scenariomdashtell us what yoursquod do in

THE CASE OF JOHN amp THE BOTTLE

John Jones has been the Director of Finance and Adminis-tration for 17 years As the Human Resources Manager you have worked with

John for 12 years andhave had an excellentworking relationshipwith him

Lately John is of-ten late for work andyou have noticed thatmany of the thingsthat he usually doesare either not gettingdone or are done lateThis week alone hemissed the Mondaymorning administra-tion meeting withoutany explanation andforgot to tell the Fi-nance group that theauditors were comingin on Wednesday

Over the last fewweeks you have no-ticed that he has been going for long lunches and coming backto the office smelling like alcohol This morning when yourode up on the elevator with John you noticed that he waswearing the same clothes that he had on yesterday and that hesmelled like alcohol

What do you do in this situationmdashand what does thefirm do

HOW TO BE OUR JUDGETO RESPOND WWWBCLMAORG

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 your anony-mous responsesmdashand provide a new scenario

Beatrice you and your assistant look at Jimrsquos blog

John was wearing the sameclothes he had on yesterday and he smelled of alcohol

YVON

NEBO

GDAN

SKI

The case of Continued on page 20

CRAI

GW

ACTO

R


18

BY KEVIN LAWRENCESYNERGY GROUP

One of the most predictablesure-fire ways to get a roomfull of professionals and

business owners to sweat is dis-cussing the firing of a clientwho drives them crazy

Some clients cost more than theycould ever pay in fees We have allhad these types of clients Man-agers of professionals and businessowners agonize over what to doabout them because it is a painfulsituation that we will do almostanything in our power to avoid

Remember that while firing aclient is a tough thing to do continu-ing to work with an abrasive rudefee-grinding unappreciative unethi-cal or incompatible client is muchharder on you in the long term

You know the stress these clientscreate for you and your firm Thetruth is that they are not worth thestress and you know it but you keephoping they will just go away ontheir own

If that happened you would notbe reading this article and I wouldnot be spending many hours eachmonth helping people rid their firmsof these problem clients

There is good news Firing aclient is not always necessary Insome cases you can raise the barsetting higher expectations withthem but thatrsquos a topic for anotherday

Instead letrsquos say it like it is yoursquoreat your witrsquos end your teeth areclenched and now itrsquos time to bitethe bullet take your medicine shiveryour timbers or whatever other bonmot gets you through it

There are respectful professionalways to fire clients and here aresome of them

RELIEVING YOUR FIRM OF CLIENTSYOU CAN NO LONGER WORK WITH

Stage OnemdashNever fire as the firststep

Be sure yoursquove raised the bar first

or fired a warning shot or two Themost important part of this process isto ensure that you have been fair andprofessional with the client Thatmeans letting the client know yourexpectations and that they are notbeing met

In most cases you or oth-ers in the firm are frus-

trated with the behav-iour of a client and out

of frustration want toend your relationshipwith them The problemis that usually theclient does not

know that their be-haviour is unaccept-able

The clientrsquos meth-ods of getting resultsmay include complainingin order to get their invoicediscounted paying only after

numerous reminder calls droppingoff work without adequate time tocomplete it and generally being rudeto the staff And because theyrsquovebeen doing the same thing over andover for the past several years with-out anyone ever suggesting that thebehaviour was a problem the clientassumes things are fine The only oneto blame is you not the client

There is only one solution to thisdilemma Let the client know the ex-pectations that are not being met andgive them a chance to meet themProvide your expectations in writingIf the client does not reasonably meetyour expectations move on to StageTwo (There are some situationswhere you may skip Stage One alto-gether such as those involving crim-inal activity)

Stage TwomdashFiring should nevercome as a surprise to the client

Just as with an employee termina-tion should never come as a shockunless a criminal or unethical act hasbeen committed

After the client has been given anopportunity to improve (Stage One)then you can actually consider end-ing the relationship

There are two styles to ending arelationship The Yoursquore fired approach made

popular by Donald Trump and The We are not meant to work to-

gether approach preferred by peo-ple like us

Now Irsquom not suggesting that MrTrumprsquos approach does not work Itis just not an approach that most pro-fessionals I work with would be com-

fortable using I think that is agood thing

The We are not meant towork together approach iseffective because it relieson honesty and beingstraightforward We arebombarded with people

telling us what we wantto hear because theywant something fromus Honesty is sur-

prisingly refresh-ing This

method al-lows peo-ple to re-solve problemswith respect and professionalism

STEPS FOR TALKING TOUGH What I want to convey is that it is

essential to speak personally with theclient No letters in the mail allowedat this point That is not respectful

Ideally meet your client face toface or failing that speak with theclient on the phone Why Because itcan save you a ton of headaches

One practitioner I know tried theldquomail and prayrdquo approach to firing aclient The client became so angry atgetting fired via a letter he filed anethics complaint That was a mess

FOUR STEPS TO CONFLICTRESOLUTION Get permission Ensure clients

have time to talk and pay atten-tion when you make contact

The facts Stick to the key aspectsof the situation involving the twoof you

Ready aim FIRE

How to get rid of that pesky amp$( client

MIC

HALP

POPI

EL

Firing that pesky client Continued on page 19

How you feel Tell the client aboutthe dilemma and the discomfortyou face

Resolution Communicate clearlyhow you see the relationship end-ing

This is a simple and effective ap-proach to resolving client conflicts

Now Irsquoll share a few different situa-tions and what the conversations maysound like when applying this ap-proach

Situation 1Your client continues to not pay

their invoices on time and you nolonger want to argue about gettingpaid

Step 1mdashPermission ldquoHi Sally itrsquos Jane your

__________ calling Do you have acouple of minutes to talkrdquo

Step 2mdashThe Facts ldquoJane every month we do work

for you and then we spend valuabletime following up with you for pay-ment We spend even more time ne-gotiating our invoice and end up giv-ing you a discountrdquo

Step 3mdashHow You FeelldquoI must tell you I find this ex-

hausting I just canrsquot do it anymore I

find it stressful and I assume it is notfun for you eitherrdquo

Step 4mdashResolutionldquoI have decided that itrsquos best for

you to find another law firm to workwith This is not working for either ofus We are obviously not meant towork together if all this negotiation isrequired for us to get paid To be hon-est with you it is too stressful for meI like you but our business relation-ship just doesnrsquot seem to work

ldquoThe only other option is to haveyou pay in advance I am not sure ifyou will find this a reasonablearrangement but it is the only way itwill work for me How would youlike to handle thisrdquo

Situation 2A client keeps asking you to do

things that you are not willing to dofor ethical reasons

Step 1mdashPermission ldquoHi Steve itrsquos Jack your

______________ Do you have a cou-ple of minutesrdquo

Step 2mdashThe FactsldquoSteve over the past year in work-

ing with you itrsquos become clear thatwe have two very different takes on____________ You really want me topush and do things that are muchmore aggressive than I am willing to

do It is just not my stylerdquo Step 3mdashHow You FeelldquoI must tell you that it really caus-

es me anxiety because while I dowant to help you at the same time Ihave to stick with my principles Ineed to feel comfortable with myname on the work I do for you at theend of the year and I have to be ableto sleep at nightrdquo

Step 4mdashResolution ldquoI am calling today to suggest you

find another law firm one thatrsquos abetter fit with your style of dealingwith the situation a firm thatrsquos morewilling to look at things the way youdo I just donrsquot think thatrsquos us We aregoing to continue to bash heads andhave conflicts From my side I donrsquotthink it is worth continuing our busi-ness relationshiprdquo

Situation 3A client has moved into a business

that is more complicated it requiresexpertise you do not possess

Step 1mdashPermissionldquoHi Sam itrsquos Brian your

____________ calling Do you have aminute to talkrdquo

Step 2mdashThe FactsldquoSam itrsquos wonderful to see how


19

MAKING THE MOVEShellip

BCLMA Full Members who have moved and joinedthe following Vancouver firms

Marian Verdicchio Roper Greyellhellip Paula KeissMcCullough OrsquoConnor Irwinhellip Jan Whyte Mur-

phy Battistahellip Jill Fitzpatrick Burns Fitzpatrick Rogeramp Schwartzhellip Jemmie-Lee Harris Pacific Law Group

NEW MEMBERSWe welcome the following professionals to the BCLMA

Human Resources Susan Olar of the BC Court-house Society Erin Minter of Blakes Megan

McAllister of David Esther Van Leening of FHampPLawyers Reshmi Naicker of McCarthy TetraultWilma Chen new HR Manager at Watson GoepelMaledy LLP Robbin Myers new Payroll amp Bene-fitsHR Support Administrator Oyen Wiggs Green ampMutala LLPhellip Finance Carmen Arndt of Lindsay

Kenneyhellip Facilities amp Services Management JoyceAnoyo of Fasken Martineau Clint Baker of WhitelawTwininghellip Technology Heidi Blaker of WaterstoneLaw Group Marilynn Browne and Samantha Dubblinof Clark Wilson Peter Smith of Lang MichenerhellipTrainers Sabrina Menzies of Davis Carey Nasu ofMcCarthy Tetraulthellip Marketing Rob Golbeck andSuzanne Van Der Pauw both of Clark Wilson SimoneFell of Fraser Milner Deanne Button of Davishellip

Correction Due to an editing error some New Memberswere mistakenly listed as New Subsection Leaders in theprevious edition causing some general confusion (not tomention a couple of people new to us who were startled by ourapparent method of choosing lsquovolunteersrsquo and a couple of oldhands wondering why they were suddenly relieved of theirpositions) Our apologies to all those inadvertently involved

The list of the Subsection Chairs and Co-Chairs as of thedate of publication is always on the last page of each TopicsYou can also go to our websitersquos home page and click on theBoard of Directors link for the latest list

Firing that pesky client Continued from page 18


your business is thriving I amthrilled for you The challenge for meis that your business now requires ex-pertise that is beyond the scope ofwhat our firm is comfortable doingrdquo

Step 3mdashHow You FeelldquoThis is not a fun conversation to

have because I like you and enjoyworking with you But I truly feel thatwe would be doing you a disservice ifwe continue as your law firm I be-lieve there are other professionalswho could do a much better job foryou because their expertise bettermeets your needsrdquo

Step 4mdashResolution ldquoI would like to direct you to two or

three other firms that you can checkout for yourself They would be able toprovide more value for you by meeting

the future needs of your companyrdquo

SUMMARYThe key to letting a client go is to

be respectful and professional Re-member to raise the bar with theclient so it is not a surprise when youactually have to fire them

Use the Four Step Conflict Resolutionmodel to communicate the facts with-out placing blame

Explain the situation that has ledyou to conclude that the two of youare not meant to work together

One final reminder if you are un-sure about this approach get helpEliminating a contrary client fromyour practice will do wonders foryour morale productivity and willmake room for more ideal clients

If you are not comfortable doing iton your own contact a member of the

BCLMArsquos Mentor Program for tips orconsider hiring someone like me forcoaching Whatever choice you makeyou deserve to have quality clients Iwish you all the best

Critical noteIf you have any concerns that there

could be a backlash (ie a lawsuit orethics complaint) as a result of firingthis client be sure to contact an advi-sor at your industry association or an-other professional such as a lawyerfor help before you take action

Kevin Lawrence is a business coachspeaker and agent of change who is driv-en by a relentless passion for helping en-trepreneurs and business leaders get whatthey really want in business and life

For more information call 1-877-564-6224 or visit wwwcoachkevincom


20 Firing that pesky client Continued from page 19

and it is simply not the right fit forhim and Beatrice I would not evenmention the blog during the termi-nation meeting

Hi this is Paula Terminating Jimrsquosemployment with payment in lieu of no-tice is quick way to deal with the situa-tion

However if you donrsquot mention theblog at the termination meeting theremay be more negative material posted re-garding your firm

Also if you terminate Jimrsquos employ-ment without finding out more informa-tion about his dissatisfaction you aremissing an opportunity to learn moreabout what is happening in the account-ing department

RESPONSE JIM WHATrsquoS GOINGON

I would bring Jim into my officeprivately and tell him that I amaware of his comments on his blogand I would ask him for an explana-tion

I would explain to him that nomatter what his feelings were forBeatrice that it is inappropriate tomake such statements in a public fo-rum like a blog

I would also explain to Jim that hisremarks have tainted the entire firmwhich was probably not his intent

I would then ask him to removethe comments on his blog immedi-ately Assuming he is willing to dothis I would then ask him to give mea couple of days to deal with theproblem

I would then call in Beatrice andget her reaction to the blog and tocomment on Jimrsquos negative com-ments about her

What happens from here dependson whether Jim is willing to providea retraction whether Beatrice is will-ing to work things out with Jim andwhether either one of them will de-mand action Beatrice needs to un-derstand that by firing Jim outrightwill likely invoke further damagingcomments on his blog and we wantto avoid that if possible

As a follow-up after this matter issettled I would call a staff meetingto discuss and hopefully encourageall staff that my door is always openand they should come to me or themanaging partner before they slan-der the firm or any member of thefirm in writing

This is an excellent response Jim hasto be told that his blog comments are in-appropriate and that they need to be re-moved immediately

It may also be appropriate to adviseJim in writing of the inappropriate na-ture of his actions to emphasize the im-portance of the issue and to ensure that if

he continues with this behaviour you arein a better position to fire him for cause

It may also be true that Beatrice needsto modify her management style and thatJim needs to work on his performance is-sues

Providing Jim and Beatrice an oppor-tunity to work out their differences ei-ther with the help of you or Human Re-sources may assist with these issuesHowever if they are unable to workthem out you will at least find out moreabout each employee during that processand will be better able to make decisionsabout further actions including furthertraining or terminating the employmentof one or both of them

Following up with all staff is also agood idea Some employees may not real-ize that communicating about their em-ployer in a public forum like the Internetis not acceptable and is also grounds fordiscipline and potentially termination ofemployment for cause

LOOK AT OUR NEW SCENARIOYour comments and responses

help all of us better understand ourworkplace

Donrsquot forget to read the Case ofJohn amp The Bottle our scenario forthis issue on page 10 Let us knowyour suggestions about how youwould solve that workplace prob-lem and wersquoll provide your com-ments in the next issue of Topics

The case of Bernice amp Jim Continued from page 17


21

SPRING 2008

Editor Stephanie CornellManaging Editor Designer Peter Morgan

Newsletter Archive amp Indexlthttpwwwbclmaorgresources

newsletterstopicsindexcfmgt

Editorial copy 2008 BCLMA CANADA

Published by MORGANNewsletters Ltd

BRITISH COLUMBIA LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION

President Stephanie Cornell

WHO WE ARE

The BCLMA founded in 1972 is a non-profit organiza-

tion with 95 Full Members and more than 220 Sub-

Section Members across BC It is the BCLMA lsquos goal to

provide educational opportunities for our members

to enhance skills as legal administrators and to pro-

vide professional and personal benefits to the mem-

bers 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 similar situa-

tions The best way to get involved is to become a

part of the BCLMA

NEWSLETTER SERVICES

Topics is available to Members and prospective mem-

bers We will be pleased to add you to our mailing list

for this newsletter Please contact Editor Stephanie

Cornell or any member of the Editorial Committee

for comments on any of these articles 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 accom-

panied by attribution Quoting any article or portion

of article without attribution is prohibited 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 Stephanie Cornell President-ElectFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2900 550 Burrard StreetVancouver Canada V6C 0A3D 6046314767F 604-631-3232SCornellFaskencom

Doug Ausman PastPresidentRatcliff amp Company500 221 West EsplenadeNorth Vancouver V2M 3J3D 6049837605F 604-988-1452DAusmanRatcliffcom

Jan Whyte Director

Murphy Battista

2020 650 West Georgia Street

Vancouver BC V6B 4N7

D 6046333811

F 604-683-5084

E WhyteMurphyBattistacom

Angela Zarowny TreasurerDirect 6043510124azanddzShawca

Allison Milroy Director2008 Conference ChairWatson Goepel Maledy LLPBarristers amp SolicitorsSuite 1700 1075 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6E 3C9 P 6046881301F 604-688-8193 AMilroyWGMlawcom

Gary Carter DirectorPaine Edmonds LLP1100 510 Burrard StreetVancouver BC V6C 3A8P 6046831211F 604-681-5084GCarterPaine-Edmondscom

Jane Kennedy Administrator andMembership ServicesBCLMA

964 Beaconsfield RoadNorth Vancouver BC V7R 1T2P 6049881221F 604-988-1221MembershipBCLMAorg

SUB-SECTION LEADERSFacilities amp Service ManagementKevin Peers Co-ChairBull Housser Tupper3000 1055 West Georgia Street PO Box 11130 Stn Royal Centre Vancouver BC V6E 3R3D 6046876575F 604-641-4949KAPBHTcom

Tammy Toeppner Co-ChairBorden Ladner Gervais LLP1200ndash200 Burrard StreetVancouver BC V7X 1T2D 6046323417P 6046875744F 604-687-1415TToeppnerBLGCanadacom

FinanceBonnie Kirk Co-ChairLawson Lundell LLP1600 925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 604-669-1620BKirkLawsonLundellcom

Sharon Keller Co-ChairBoughton Law Corporation1000 595 Burrard StreetVancouver BC V7X 1S8D 6046474165F 604-683-5317SKellerBoughtonca

Human ResourcesTina Giallonardo ChairMiller Thomson LLP1800 840 Howe StVancouver BC V6Z 2M1P 6046872242F 604-643-1200TGiallonardoMillerThomsonca

Knowledge ManagementGreg Christensen ChairFasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP2900ndash550 Burrard StreetVancouver Canada V6C 0A3D 6046314993F 604-631-3232GChristensenFaskencom

MarketingRecruiting

Small FirmsColleen Chapman Co-ChairBrawn Karras amp Sanderson301 15117ndash101 AvenueSurrey BC V3R 8P7 D 6045873600F 6045882331CChapmanBKS Lawcom

Jeff Mousseau Co-ChairMandell Pinder422 1080 Mainland StreetVancouver BC V6B 2T4P 6046814146 (ext 215)F 604-681-0959JeffMandellPindercom

TrainersEva Handeland Co-ChairFarris LLP 2500 700 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V7Y 1B3 D 6046619398 F 604-661-9349 EHandelandFarriscom

Shrsquoeli Mullin Co-ChairLang Michener LLP 1500 1055 West Georgia St Vancouver V6E 4N7 P 6046899111 F 604-685-7084 SMullinLMLScom

Technology Aaron Fahlman Co-ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2900 550 Burrard StreetVancouver Canada V6C 0A3D 6046314960F 604-631-3232AFahlmanFaskencom

Aaron Zuccolin Co-ChairWatson Goepel Maledy LLP1700 - 1075 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6E 3C9 D 6046425661F 604-688-8193AZuccolinWGMlawcom

EDITORIAL COMMITTEEStephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2900 550 Burrard StreetVancouver Canada V6C 0A3D 6046314767F 604-631-3232SCornellFaskencom

Tim WurtzBaker Newby LLP9259 Main StChilliwack BC V2P 6K2P (1) 6047921376F (1) 604-792-8711TWurtzBakerNewbycom

Paula ButlerBarrister amp Solicitor200 100 Park RoyalWest Vancouver BC V7T 1A2P 6047820373F 604-983-0372PButlerPaulaButlercom

Mike BowerbankBlake Cassels amp Graydon2600 595 Burrard StreetVancouver BC V7X 1L3P 6046313300F 6046313309MikeBowerbankBlakescom

Agostino doSouto AdvertisngHarper Grey Easton3100 - 650 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6B 4P7D 6048952852F 604-669-9385AdoSoutoHGElawcom

EXECUTIVE Stephanie Cornell PresidentFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2900 550 Burrard StreetVancouver Canada V6C 0A3D 6046314767F 604-631-3232SCornellFaskencom

Doug Ausman Past PresidentRatcliff amp Company500 221 West EsplenadeNorth Vancouver V2M 3J3D 6049837605F 604-988-1452DAusmanRatcliffcom


Ann Johnston DirectorBull Housser amp Tupper LLP3000 - 1055 West Georgia StreetPO Box 11130 Stn Royal CentreVancouver BC V6E 3R3D 6046414800F 604-641-4949ATJBHTcom

Evenna Liu DirectorOyen Wiggs Green amp Mutala LLP480 - 601 Cordova Street WVancouver BC V6B 1G1D 604-676-9074F 604-681-4081ELiuPatentablecom

Barb Marshall DirectorFasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP2900 - 550 Burrard StreetVancouver BC V6C 0A3D 6046314991F 604-631-3232BMarshallFaskencom

Jan Whyte DirectorMurphy Battista2020 650 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6B 4N7D 6046333811F 604-683-5084WhyteMurphyBattistacom


Jane Kennedy Administrator amp Membership ServicesBCLMA


SUB-SECTION LEADERS

2008 Conference

Allison Milroy Chairco BCLMA

964 Beaconsfield RoadNorth Vancouver BC V7R 1T2P 6049881221F 604-988-1221InfoBCLMAorg

Facilities amp Service ManagementKevin Peers Co-ChairBull Housser Tupper3000 1055 West Georgia Street PO Box 11130 Stn Royal Centre Vancouver BC V6E 3R3D 6046876575F 604-641-4949KAPBHTcom


FinanceBonnie Kirk ChairLawson Lundell LLP1600 925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 604-669-1620BKirkLawsonLundellcom

Jordan Dixon Co-ChairBoughton Law CorporationSuite 700 - 595 Burrard StreetVancouver BC V7X 1S8P 6046476430F 604-683-5317



MarketingRecruiting

Small FirmsColleen Chapman Co-ChairBrawn Karras amp Sanderson309-1688-152nd StreetSurrey BC V4A 4N2 D 6045427730F 604-542-5341CChapmanBKS Lawcom


TrainersRuth-Ann Spencer Co-ChairBull Housser amp Tupper LLP 3000 1055 West Georgia Street Vancouver BC V6E 3R3 D 6046414921 F 604-646-2638 RASBHTcom




EDITORIAL COMMITTEE

Bob Waterman ChairRichards Buell SuttonD 6046619241F 604-688-3830BWatermanRBSca

Stephanie Cornell EditorFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2900 550 Burrard StreetVancouver Canada V6C 0A3D 6046314767F 604-631-3232SCornellFaskencom




Agustino doSouto AdvertisngHarper Grey LLP3200 Vancouver Centre650 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6B 4P7D 6048952852F 604-669-9385AdoSoutoHarperGreycom

BCLMA EXECUTIVE amp SECTION LEADERS

soft as the survey continued as 9of the respondents said they had al-ready switched to a non-Microsoft OSto avoid Vista and 25 expected to beswitching to one within the next year

HASTA LA VISTA So what is the big problem with

VistaJoe Wilcox who writes Windows

Watch on the eWeek website notedthat Vista introduces too much com-plexity compared to Windows XP thatXP was ldquogood enoughrdquo that Mi-crosoft had the wrong priorities inVistarsquos design and that ultimatelyVista shipped before it was ready Orperhaps it shipped before the market-place was ready

A quick Internet search revealshundreds of websites with instruc-tions on how to fix Vista bugs andmany suggested necessary hardwareupgrades as well as getting rid ofmost of your other software that issuddenly not compatible with yourPCrsquos new operating system

World-renowned CNET Networks

rated Micro soft Vista as one of its TopTen Terrible Tech Products As it sobluntly put it Vista made the list be-cause ldquoits incompatibility with hard-ware its obsessive requirement of hu-man interaction to clear securitydialogue-box warnings and its abu-

sive use of hated DRM [Digital RightsManagement] not to mention its gen-eral pointlessness as an upgraderdquo

The national American newspaperUSA Today released an article also last



THE FIRM

GRAH

AMM

ORGA

Ncopy

200

8

















bull

bull

bull

bull

bull

bull

bull

bull















Linux anyone




are the same








CHAMPION

























6














































8

















CONVEYMASTER


Tel (800) 667-0332 or (604) 685-1078Fax (604) 685-9370












Human resources



Not enough time 40




Gossip 18 31

































Tim Wurtz









































11










ldquordquo



or visit wwwltsaca

























next stage










12




Gary Mitchell


ALEX

EYKL

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13









































EXEY

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ENTI

EV


SOLUTIONS INC




























AntonioZivanovic
























Trusted

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October 23mdash25




























Vancouver





























YVON

NEBO

GDAN

SKI


CRAI

GW

ACTO

R


18









































Ready aim FIRE


MIC

HALP

POPI

EL


































19























































21

SPRING 2008








WHO WE ARE








MEMBER SERVICES












part of the BCLMA

NEWSLETTER SERVICES








REPRODUCTION RIGHTS












Jan Whyte Director

Murphy Battista



D 6046333811

F 604-683-5084













MarketingRecruiting






















SUB-SECTION LEADERS

2008 Conference









MarketingRecruiting







EDITORIAL COMMITTEE























bull

bull

bull

bull

bull

bull

bull

bull















Linux anyone




are the same








CHAMPION

























6














































8

















CONVEYMASTER


Tel (800) 667-0332 or (604) 685-1078Fax (604) 685-9370












Human resources



Not enough time 40




Gossip 18 31

































Tim Wurtz









































11










ldquordquo



or visit wwwltsaca

























next stage










12




Gary Mitchell


ALEX

EYKL

EMEN

TIEV

13









































EXEY

KLEM

ENTI

EV


SOLUTIONS INC




























AntonioZivanovic
























Trusted

Cost-Savings

Specialists



cost savings


processes



amp savings

Specialists in

Overhead Cost

Reduction

bull

Advisors to Western


Firms





October 23mdash25




























Vancouver





























YVON

NEBO

GDAN

SKI


CRAI

GW

ACTO

R


18









































Ready aim FIRE


MIC

HALP

POPI

EL


































19























































21

SPRING 2008








WHO WE ARE








MEMBER SERVICES












part of the BCLMA

NEWSLETTER SERVICES








REPRODUCTION RIGHTS












Jan Whyte Director

Murphy Battista



D 6046333811

F 604-683-5084













MarketingRecruiting






















SUB-SECTION LEADERS

2008 Conference









MarketingRecruiting







EDITORIAL COMMITTEE






















Linux anyone




are the same








CHAMPION

























6














































8

















CONVEYMASTER


Tel (800) 667-0332 or (604) 685-1078Fax (604) 685-9370












Human resources



Not enough time 40




Gossip 18 31

































Tim Wurtz









































11










ldquordquo



or visit wwwltsaca

























next stage










12




Gary Mitchell


ALEX

EYKL

EMEN

TIEV

13









































EXEY

KLEM

ENTI

EV


SOLUTIONS INC




























AntonioZivanovic
























Trusted

Cost-Savings

Specialists



cost savings


processes



amp savings

Specialists in

Overhead Cost

Reduction

bull

Advisors to Western


Firms





October 23mdash25




























Vancouver





























YVON

NEBO

GDAN

SKI


CRAI

GW

ACTO

R


18









































Ready aim FIRE


MIC

HALP

POPI

EL


































19























































21

SPRING 2008








WHO WE ARE








MEMBER SERVICES












part of the BCLMA

NEWSLETTER SERVICES








REPRODUCTION RIGHTS












Jan Whyte Director

Murphy Battista



D 6046333811

F 604-683-5084













MarketingRecruiting






















SUB-SECTION LEADERS

2008 Conference









MarketingRecruiting







EDITORIAL COMMITTEE









are the same








CHAMPION

























6














































8

















CONVEYMASTER


Tel (800) 667-0332 or (604) 685-1078Fax (604) 685-9370












Human resources



Not enough time 40




Gossip 18 31

































Tim Wurtz









































11










ldquordquo



or visit wwwltsaca

























next stage










12




Gary Mitchell


ALEX

EYKL

EMEN

TIEV

13









































EXEY

KLEM

ENTI

EV


SOLUTIONS INC




























AntonioZivanovic
























Trusted

Cost-Savings

Specialists



cost savings


processes



amp savings

Specialists in

Overhead Cost

Reduction

bull

Advisors to Western


Firms





October 23mdash25




























Vancouver





























YVON

NEBO

GDAN

SKI


CRAI

GW

ACTO

R


18









































Ready aim FIRE


MIC

HALP

POPI

EL


































19























































21

SPRING 2008








WHO WE ARE








MEMBER SERVICES












part of the BCLMA

NEWSLETTER SERVICES








REPRODUCTION RIGHTS












Jan Whyte Director

Murphy Battista



D 6046333811

F 604-683-5084













MarketingRecruiting






















SUB-SECTION LEADERS

2008 Conference









MarketingRecruiting







EDITORIAL COMMITTEE




























6














































8

















CONVEYMASTER


Tel (800) 667-0332 or (604) 685-1078Fax (604) 685-9370












Human resources



Not enough time 40




Gossip 18 31

































Tim Wurtz









































11










ldquordquo



or visit wwwltsaca

























next stage










12




Gary Mitchell


ALEX

EYKL

EMEN

TIEV

13









































EXEY

KLEM

ENTI

EV


SOLUTIONS INC




























AntonioZivanovic
























Trusted

Cost-Savings

Specialists



cost savings


processes



amp savings

Specialists in

Overhead Cost

Reduction

bull

Advisors to Western


Firms





October 23mdash25




























Vancouver





























YVON

NEBO

GDAN

SKI


CRAI

GW

ACTO

R


18









































Ready aim FIRE


MIC

HALP

POPI

EL


































19























































21

SPRING 2008








WHO WE ARE








MEMBER SERVICES












part of the BCLMA

NEWSLETTER SERVICES








REPRODUCTION RIGHTS












Jan Whyte Director

Murphy Battista



D 6046333811

F 604-683-5084













MarketingRecruiting






















SUB-SECTION LEADERS

2008 Conference









MarketingRecruiting







EDITORIAL COMMITTEE


































8

















CONVEYMASTER


Tel (800) 667-0332 or (604) 685-1078Fax (604) 685-9370












Human resources



Not enough time 40




Gossip 18 31

































Tim Wurtz









































11










ldquordquo



or visit wwwltsaca

























next stage










12




Gary Mitchell


ALEX

EYKL

EMEN

TIEV

13









































EXEY

KLEM

ENTI

EV


SOLUTIONS INC




























AntonioZivanovic
























Trusted

Cost-Savings

Specialists



cost savings


processes



amp savings

Specialists in

Overhead Cost

Reduction

bull

Advisors to Western


Firms





October 23mdash25




























Vancouver





























YVON

NEBO

GDAN

SKI


CRAI

GW

ACTO

R


18









































Ready aim FIRE


MIC

HALP

POPI

EL


































19























































21

SPRING 2008








WHO WE ARE








MEMBER SERVICES












part of the BCLMA

NEWSLETTER SERVICES








REPRODUCTION RIGHTS












Jan Whyte Director

Murphy Battista



D 6046333811

F 604-683-5084













MarketingRecruiting






















SUB-SECTION LEADERS

2008 Conference









MarketingRecruiting







EDITORIAL COMMITTEE

































Tim Wurtz









































11










ldquordquo



or visit wwwltsaca

























next stage










12




Gary Mitchell


ALEX

EYKL

EMEN

TIEV

13









































EXEY

KLEM

ENTI

EV


SOLUTIONS INC




























AntonioZivanovic
























Trusted

Cost-Savings

Specialists



cost savings


processes



amp savings

Specialists in

Overhead Cost

Reduction

bull

Advisors to Western


Firms





October 23mdash25




























Vancouver





























YVON

NEBO

GDAN

SKI


CRAI

GW

ACTO

R


18









































Ready aim FIRE


MIC

HALP

POPI

EL


































19























































21

SPRING 2008








WHO WE ARE








MEMBER SERVICES












part of the BCLMA

NEWSLETTER SERVICES








REPRODUCTION RIGHTS












Jan Whyte Director

Murphy Battista



D 6046333811

F 604-683-5084













MarketingRecruiting






















SUB-SECTION LEADERS

2008 Conference









MarketingRecruiting







EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
















































11










ldquordquo



or visit wwwltsaca

























next stage










12




Gary Mitchell


ALEX

EYKL

EMEN

TIEV

13









































EXEY

KLEM

ENTI

EV


SOLUTIONS INC




























AntonioZivanovic
























Trusted

Cost-Savings

Specialists



cost savings


processes



amp savings

Specialists in

Overhead Cost

Reduction

bull

Advisors to Western


Firms





October 23mdash25




























Vancouver





























YVON

NEBO

GDAN

SKI


CRAI

GW

ACTO

R


18









































Ready aim FIRE


MIC

HALP

POPI

EL


































19























































21

SPRING 2008








WHO WE ARE








MEMBER SERVICES












part of the BCLMA

NEWSLETTER SERVICES








REPRODUCTION RIGHTS












Jan Whyte Director

Murphy Battista



D 6046333811

F 604-683-5084













MarketingRecruiting






















SUB-SECTION LEADERS

2008 Conference









MarketingRecruiting







EDITORIAL COMMITTEE































next stage










12




Gary Mitchell


ALEX

EYKL

EMEN

TIEV

13









































EXEY

KLEM

ENTI

EV


SOLUTIONS INC




























AntonioZivanovic
























Trusted

Cost-Savings

Specialists



cost savings


processes



amp savings

Specialists in

Overhead Cost

Reduction

bull

Advisors to Western


Firms





October 23mdash25




























Vancouver





























YVON

NEBO

GDAN

SKI


CRAI

GW

ACTO

R


18









































Ready aim FIRE


MIC

HALP

POPI

EL


































19























































21

SPRING 2008








WHO WE ARE








MEMBER SERVICES












part of the BCLMA

NEWSLETTER SERVICES








REPRODUCTION RIGHTS












Jan Whyte Director

Murphy Battista



D 6046333811

F 604-683-5084













MarketingRecruiting






















SUB-SECTION LEADERS

2008 Conference









MarketingRecruiting







EDITORIAL COMMITTEE








13









































EXEY

KLEM

ENTI

EV


SOLUTIONS INC




























AntonioZivanovic
























Trusted

Cost-Savings

Specialists



cost savings


processes



amp savings

Specialists in

Overhead Cost

Reduction

bull

Advisors to Western


Firms





October 23mdash25




























Vancouver





























YVON

NEBO

GDAN

SKI


CRAI

GW

ACTO

R


18









































Ready aim FIRE


MIC

HALP

POPI

EL


































19























































21

SPRING 2008








WHO WE ARE








MEMBER SERVICES












part of the BCLMA

NEWSLETTER SERVICES








REPRODUCTION RIGHTS












Jan Whyte Director

Murphy Battista



D 6046333811

F 604-683-5084













MarketingRecruiting






















SUB-SECTION LEADERS

2008 Conference









MarketingRecruiting







EDITORIAL COMMITTEE









SOLUTIONS INC




























AntonioZivanovic
























Trusted

Cost-Savings

Specialists



cost savings


processes



amp savings

Specialists in

Overhead Cost

Reduction

bull

Advisors to Western


Firms





October 23mdash25




























Vancouver





























YVON

NEBO

GDAN

SKI


CRAI

GW

ACTO

R


18









































Ready aim FIRE


MIC

HALP

POPI

EL


































19























































21

SPRING 2008








WHO WE ARE








MEMBER SERVICES












part of the BCLMA

NEWSLETTER SERVICES








REPRODUCTION RIGHTS












Jan Whyte Director

Murphy Battista



D 6046333811

F 604-683-5084













MarketingRecruiting






















SUB-SECTION LEADERS

2008 Conference









MarketingRecruiting







EDITORIAL COMMITTEE






























Trusted

Cost-Savings

Specialists



cost savings


processes



amp savings

Specialists in

Overhead Cost

Reduction

bull

Advisors to Western


Firms





October 23mdash25




























Vancouver





























YVON

NEBO

GDAN

SKI


CRAI

GW

ACTO

R


18









































Ready aim FIRE


MIC

HALP

POPI

EL


































19























































21

SPRING 2008








WHO WE ARE








MEMBER SERVICES












part of the BCLMA

NEWSLETTER SERVICES








REPRODUCTION RIGHTS












Jan Whyte Director

Murphy Battista



D 6046333811

F 604-683-5084













MarketingRecruiting






















SUB-SECTION LEADERS

2008 Conference









MarketingRecruiting







EDITORIAL COMMITTEE































Vancouver





























YVON

NEBO

GDAN

SKI


CRAI

GW

ACTO

R


18









































Ready aim FIRE


MIC

HALP

POPI

EL


































19























































21

SPRING 2008








WHO WE ARE








MEMBER SERVICES












part of the BCLMA

NEWSLETTER SERVICES








REPRODUCTION RIGHTS












Jan Whyte Director

Murphy Battista



D 6046333811

F 604-683-5084













MarketingRecruiting






















SUB-SECTION LEADERS

2008 Conference









MarketingRecruiting







EDITORIAL COMMITTEE

































YVON

NEBO

GDAN

SKI


CRAI

GW

ACTO

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18









































Ready aim FIRE


MIC

HALP

POPI

EL


































19























































21

SPRING 2008








WHO WE ARE








MEMBER SERVICES












part of the BCLMA

NEWSLETTER SERVICES








REPRODUCTION RIGHTS












Jan Whyte Director

Murphy Battista



D 6046333811

F 604-683-5084













MarketingRecruiting






















SUB-SECTION LEADERS

2008 Conference









MarketingRecruiting







EDITORIAL COMMITTEE









18









































Ready aim FIRE


MIC

HALP

POPI

EL


































19























































21

SPRING 2008








WHO WE ARE








MEMBER SERVICES












part of the BCLMA

NEWSLETTER SERVICES








REPRODUCTION RIGHTS












Jan Whyte Director

Murphy Battista



D 6046333811

F 604-683-5084













MarketingRecruiting






















SUB-SECTION LEADERS

2008 Conference









MarketingRecruiting







EDITORIAL COMMITTEE








































19























































21

SPRING 2008








WHO WE ARE








MEMBER SERVICES












part of the BCLMA

NEWSLETTER SERVICES








REPRODUCTION RIGHTS












Jan Whyte Director

Murphy Battista



D 6046333811

F 604-683-5084













MarketingRecruiting






















SUB-SECTION LEADERS

2008 Conference









MarketingRecruiting







EDITORIAL COMMITTEE


















































21

SPRING 2008








WHO WE ARE








MEMBER SERVICES












part of the BCLMA

NEWSLETTER SERVICES








REPRODUCTION RIGHTS












Jan Whyte Director

Murphy Battista



D 6046333811

F 604-683-5084













MarketingRecruiting






















SUB-SECTION LEADERS

2008 Conference









MarketingRecruiting







EDITORIAL COMMITTEE








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