There is no “New Normal.” There is Normal & There is you (2014 LMA Annual Conference)

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Derek Maine

There is a “new normal.” You’ve probably heard about it. I wasn’t around for the old normal so I’m working at a disadvantage here but I’m going to step outside my own experience and make an educated guess: the new normal is the same as the old normal. It’s the norm. Individuals and businesses need lawyers. Lawyers need individuals and businesses (and laws, of course, but there’s plenty of them to go around). Our job is to connect. Or coordinate, direct or official a connection, as the case may be. Buying ad space in the phone book doesn’t make much sound sense anymore. So now we chase Google’s ever-changing algorithms in pursuit of the almighty first page result. LinkedIN is a lot prettier to look at than a dusty rolodex.  Clients with voluminous legal needs started noticing that there sure were a lot of lawyers and a timely bottle of scotch didn’t go as far. Some even dared to speak the unspeakable, “why do we pay that way instead of this way?”

There is no new normal because there was no old normal. The phrase “change is the only constant” is attributed to a Greek philosopher that lived from 535 BC until 475 BC. In other words, we’re all already well aware of this truth. But have we accepted it?

We are in the stage of a business cycle, in the legal industry, where the supply outweighs the demand. That will change because that’s the nature of cycles. But which attorneys and which firms will make it through and flourish in this portion of the cycle is a fair question. Some of the tools I was introduced to at the annual conference may play an important role in answering that question. Some of them won’t. Identifying which one’s will and which one’s won’t and allocating your resources in an effective manner definitely will.  It always has. That’s just normal.

The 2014 Legal Marketing Association Annual Conference was unquestionably geared towards large firms. International firms. Cross-coastal firms. AmLaw 100, AmLaw 250. Firms with marketing departments and specialization. I was a proud and honored recipient of the LMASE scholarship to attend the conference but I happen to not work at one of those firms. I gained some insight, was able to see a lot of really cutting edge software and processes and met some really interesting people. I know more about the industry today, as I wrap this up, than I did when I boarded that plane. But there are a lot of us out there, toiling away in one or two member departments for smaller firms. My experience at the 2013 LMASE Annual Conference in Charleston, and the local meetings and meet-ups, tap into this culture of smaller firms much more effectively.

I spent some time walking around the halls of the hotel feeling a little insecure about my place in the profession. The large firms, with their supremely competent big staffs and legal software to die for, was part of it. The other part was my inexperience, obviously. And this was my first time. Not being a natural at networking, I’m bound to feel myself get tied up. But there was something else and it stemmed from the educational and information overload I had experienced in a short matter of time. I felt like I had too many options, was being seduced in too many directions. I have the resources for one big project a year and my notebook had suggestions for 12. I took a seat, grabbed a coffee, and looked at the list. The theme was choice. If there is a new normal, it’s an abundance of choice. And there’s just me. That’s overwhelming. I used to tell friends that romance, work and home ownership were not that difficult because you only need one partner, one job and one home. It only takes one so the odds are pretty well stacked in your favor to find someone to love, something to do during the day and somewhere to sleep. There are a lot of people to love, a lot of things to do and a lot of places to sleep. They outnumber you. The key, and this is hard for some people, is to commit to that one thing. So I took my silly advice and crossed out 11 of the projects in my notebook, emailed firm leadership about an initiative I was interested in exploring and committed.

Thanks for reading. Reach out, say hello, my email is derekmaine@yahoo.com. I am always happy to talk and sometimes I even listen.