Ernie The Attorney

Regulation is the answer?

Ya know, maybe more regulation is not going to prevent future financial mayhem.  Regulation only works if the regulators actually look for trouble, or in the case of Bernie Madoff, don't look avoid looking for it.

Switching to MyFax (from eFax)

One day faxes will become obsolete, but for now it's hard not to have a fax number because some people insist on sending you faxes.  And some people insist on being sent documents by fax.  Even though faxes haven't become obsolete I regard fax machines as such.

A fax machine can only be in one physical location, which means to send or receive faxes you have to go to that location.  And if the machine runs out of paper then you won't be getting that important fax, will you? Same thing if the power goes out.  The solution is to get an online fax service.

For years I've used eFax.com.  I have a local number so people have the sense that they are sending the fax to a location in New Orleans (which for some reason seems to make people feel better).  In reality the faxes go to some secure location that has high-speed reliable internet access.  The faxes are captured as images and then sent to me by email.   Sending faxes is the same process in reverse: I upload or email the document to eFax and they send it to the recipient's fax machine (or fax service).

I like eFax, but it's kind of pricey.  The basic account is $16/month for 30 pages of sent faxes and 130 of received faxes.  I don't think I've ever exceeded the minimums, but if you do it's an extra .10 or .15 cents per page, depending on if you are sending or receiving.

A friend of mine uses Myfax.com and, after checking it out I have to say that I'm impressed.  It has all the same features as eFax, but at a lower cost: $10/month for 100 sent pages and 200 received.  Also, when you receive a fax by email from MyFax there is a link to click if you want the fax to be flagged as a junk fax.  

Nice.

Failure to communicate

This past week has given me the opportunity (not enjoyable, but then things that spur us toward growth often are not enjoyable) to revisit something I've come upon before.  How people miscommunicate is not something that we seem to understand enough about.  Or at least that's true for me.

I've noticed that, in my case, the problem stems from assuming that the other person has the same information that I do. Or a similar viewpoint.  Sometimes the disconnect is something more in my control, and sometimes it's more the other person.  But usually it's both parties.

I think I need to listen much better.  I try to listen, and I ruminate a lot on what I hear.  And I often try to read between the lines to make sure I'm getting the complete picture.  But listening seems not to be enough.  Maybe I need to ask more questions, or maybe it's something more than that.

People are guarded for all kinds of reasons.  I knew that, of course.  And that's why I try to 'read between the lines,'  but that doesn't work if the person is clever about being guarded.  And this 'cleverness' isn't even conscious.

So, what's the point of this post?  Up to now it must seem completely self-absorbed in an odd way (e.g. not enough background information whilst presenting a strong 'confessional quality.').  Okay, let me move on to the "Universal Point," with background information that's not really at the heart of my self-assessment, but will bring us to some sort of useful thought.

When I went to see my dad a few days ago I was confronted with a person who is in the last stages of Parkinsons.  He can barely walk and can't stand up without assistance.  But the most troubling limitation for him is that his mind has unraveled.  He can talk (although his voice is often weak), but he can't really talk about things that are part of a common understanding.  He lives in a semi-fantasy world, in which he sometimes recognizes the faces of those around him, but sometimes not.

One of his caretakers is very good at communicating with him, and he seems to be at ease with her. One of the other caretakers is not good at communicating with him.  At this point you might ask: how does one 'communicate well' with a person who barely recognizes what's going on around them?  

Good question!

The answer wasn't obvious to me until I saw the difference, and understood something powerful which now seems like it should be obvious. My father relies primarily on his emotions (or something other than his mind) to understand when people communicate with him.  One caretaker is patient with him and understand his struggles because she's been with him for five years.  He senses love from her, and he appreciates it.  He may not understand her words well, but he interprets them in the context of her love.

The other caretaker also has great concern for my dad, but she's new and doesn't know his background as well.  She tries to communicate with him using words, even though she knows he doesn't understand what's being said.   She tries hard to communicate, but it's just not working out as well as she would like.  My father senses her frustration, and interprets her words in that context.

So my point is that words are not the primary communication tool.  Perhaps it's love.  That, and deep understanding.

The best tree ever

My dad always made a big deal about Christmas trees. The scene in A Christmas Story where the dad picks out the tree was clearly modeled on my dad. Every year we wound up with "the best tree ever." My dad always saw things in the best possible light.

So here it is: a picture of the best tree ever.

My seminar on Powerpoint (tomorrow in New Orleans)

I'll be speaking tomorrow at the New Orleans Bar Association's Procrastinator's Program.  My talk is about how to use Powerpoint as a lawyer (actually what I'll say will also apply to Apple's Keynote software). The registration fee is $55 for NOBA members and $60 for non-members.  

Here are more details:

Persuading with Powerpoint
Tuesday, Dec. 23rd | 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm
11th floor of Pan Am Bldg, 601 Poydras

To register: call 525-7453, or email CC Kahr

The materials will be handed out electronically by the bar association, but here they are in case you just want snag them now and show up at the last minute (or if you can't make it).  

Hope to see you there!

We can't admit we don't know if we don't know we don't know

We live in an era of awesome measurability.  We can measure almost anything with great precision, so we do. What never occurs to us is whether in some cases there is any correlation to measuring and predicting. 

Top college quarterbacks, more so than most athletes, are scrutinized in the extreme.  And yet it turns out that there is almost no correlation between the supposedly key measurements and later success in the NFL.  Malcom Gladwell calls this insidious disconnect between measurement and prediction 'the quarterback problem.' Apparently, this problem also manifests itself in trying to assess who will be a good teacher.

The sad truth is that we don't really have a good system for predicting teaching ability.  In fact, some of the best teachers seem to defy conventional approaches to teaching.  The key is to engage students and make them interested in the material.  How do you measure that kind of skill before the person goes into the classroom and starts teaching?

Instead of using a 'gatekeeping approach' that attempts to weed out 'less qualified candidates,' we should consider widening the gate, says Gladwell.  "We shouldn't be raising [teaching] standards," he suggests. "We should be lowering them, because there is no point in raising standards if standards don't track what we care about.  Teaching should be open to anyone with a pulse and a college degree—and teachers should be judged after they have started their jobs, not before."

Gladwell's argument is, of course, heresy. The educational system is encrusted with people who only know how to solve problems that are presented in the multiple choice format.  The reason we can't measure teaching skills is that great teachers are creative and creativity is hard to measure.  At least in the form of a standardized test.

But enough of this intellectual grandiosity; let's all get out our Number 2 pencils and carefully fill in the proper circles, shall we?

16 Gb thumbdrive for $20

Yep, it's true.  Click here to get the details (which includes free shipping).  Just so you get a sense of how much storage this is you could put a couple of tons of paper documents (after scanning) on a 16 Gb drive.

Feedback on Digital Workflow seminar

We had great attendance at our seminar last Friday, with some great questions from the audience. Obviously, people are eager to learn more about how to make the shift to a paperless practice.  This is one of the anonymous comments we received from our follow up survey:

"I had a prior commitment that made me leave early, but there is no doubt that my time would have been better spent at the seminar. This was possibly the most beneficial seminar i have been to.  If it is going to be repeated, I will be going and I will be bringing my whole firm."

Thanks to everyone who came.  We're looking forward to doing more of these seminars in 2009 so keep checking this site (or the Digital Workflow site) for more information.

Snow day in New Orleans

Digital workflow seminar tomorrow

There are still a few slots open for the seminar on Digital Workflow tomorrow at the Intercontinental Hotel in New Orleans. It's best to sign up in advance to assure a spot, but we'll certainly welcome walk-ups if we have room.

The seminar is from 9:00 am to noon on the 3rd floor of the hotel (Poydras Room). Grab your written materials from our website (left side under 'Pages') if you want, though you won't need them during the seminar. Techy Becky will be helping us with the sign-in so just look for her as you approach the registration table.