Toronto Estate Lawyer : Hull & Hull Law Firm : Trust Mediation and Succession Planning : Serving Ontario, Ottawa, Mississauga, Hamilton

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Being somewhat of a late convert to the idea of taking advantage of the myriad of small-scale technological devices invading the business and legal milieus, I get to enjoy innovations long after other people have become blasé.

The ability to work from home through gotomypc is, I think, my favourite.  For the uninitiated, the program allows for users to access their network over the internet, so that what you see on your home PC is the screen you would see at work.  By providing the mechanism to catch up at home, it takes away the need for brutal hours in the office.  In my case, it means I can go home at a sensible hour, spend time with the family, then finish off some tasks once the kids are in bed.

It also allows for a break in the day, since my brain tends to start to get tired around 4:30pm, or so and after a few hours of offtime I can think clearer anyway.

Combining the gotomypc facility with saving file documents on a network by scanning them means that, for me at least, working at home has become more efficient than at the office.  It also allows for access to a file from offsite, whether in Court, a day-long mediation or somewhere else.

All of this, to my mind at least, allows lawyers (and others) to provide better more timely service, at least given a little time and patience at the outset.

Thanks for reading.

Sean Graham

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I recently came across two entertaining and informative blogs about practice management for lawyers and law firms.

David Bilinsky is a practice management advisor and staff lawyer with the Law Society of British Columbia. He writes and lectures on the subject of legal practice management and his blog,  http://thoughtfullaw.com covers topics such as record management, technology, and law firm strategies.

This month, he wrote a series a blogs on the security of electronic documents that many lawyers will be interested in reading.

Allison Wolf's insightful blog, www.thelawyercoach.com, discusses business development and legal marketing ideas for lawyers. Wolf, the founder of her own company that coaches lawyers on business development, offers her advice and links to the most recent articles on this subject.

Both blogs also comment frequently on personal development of lawyers and what lawyers can do to renew themselves and their legal practices.

Thanks for reading,

Diane Vieira

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Recently departed actor Heath Ledger (A Knight's Tale, Brokeback Mountain, The Dark Knight) left behind a young daughter.  But based on news reports, Ledger appears to have neglected to include his daughter in his Will, perhaps unintentionally.  It appears Ledger last filed a Will in 2003, before the birth of his daughter Matilda in 2005 and before his hit film Brokeback Mountain.  This Will reportedly leaves Heath Ledger's estate entirely to his father, mother and sisters, obviously with nothing to little Matilda.

Heath Ledger's father Kim has stated that little Matilda "will be taken care of".  However, Kim himself has been in litigation with his brothers, who accused him in 1994 of mishandling their grandfather's estate to the extent of $2 million.

This intriguing story also illustrates the importance and difficulty of valuing an estate.  News reports contain estimates from $2.5 million to $20 million, quite a range for an estate that spans at least two countries. 

No word yet on whether litigation will be launched on little Matilda's behalf against her exclusion from her father's estate.  Of course, other Wills may emerge...

Stay tuned.

Chris Graham

 

 

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By my count, in the relatively short history of our website, our firm's lawyers have blogged on the transfer of wealth by the boomers to their children on six separate occasions.  See, for example, this blog and this blog.  And our blogs reflect a trend to report on the subject as the dominant sociological issue in the business media.  See, for example, this piece by Jonathan Chevreau of the National Post.

Numerous surveys have been released as to the intentions of boomers with respect to their estate plans.  The fundamental characteristic is a focus (on those in their fifties) on enjoying quality time with their families and ensuring that their estate plan properly provides for their children both before and after they are gone.  Some have suggested that this "family focus" is a departure from previous generations although I think this is open to question. Nonetheless, the statistics are illuminating, particularly respecting inter-vivos gifts to children. 

Take, for instance, the findings of a Royal Bank of Canada Poll released in November, 2007:

1.  Fifty-seven per cent of Canadians in their fifties have received or are expecting to receive money  from their parents and in-laws;

2.   Approximately three in five respondents in their fifties expect to give money, during their lifetime, to their own adult children; of those, sixty-nine per cent say they will do so because they want to see their children enjoy their lives; seven per cent say that they would not, believing that their children need to earn their own way or wait until their parent dies. 

5.   When contemplating their legacy, seven in ten respondents want to be remembered as a person who enjoyed time with their family. This family focus is also reflected in the finding that four in five of those in their fifties believe that "their children are their legacy."

David M. Smith

 

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Even as Canadians, we cannot help but get caught up in the media frenzy surrounding the U.S. Presidential State Primaries. In the last couple of months, the dominating story has been the campaign between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for the Democratic Party nomination.

Last week, Michael Geist, noted technology law professor, columnist, and blogger wrote an interesting article about how Barack Obama has courted the youth vote by embracing technology, especially social networks, like Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube. Obama’s approach appears to have worked as a social networking tool. The official Obama Facebook support page has over 500,000 friends versus Hillary’s 100,000 friends.

Aside from using technology to reach voters, Obama has also taken positions on issues that are important to young voters, such as net neutrality legislation and digital copyright, subjects most politicians, including Canada’s mainstream political parties fail to address.

From the sidelines, it will be interesting to see how the primaries work out and if more Facebook friends results in more delegates. I would encourage anyone interested in technology, privacy law, and social media to regularly read Mr. Geist’s blog.

Thanks for reading,

Diane Vieira

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A few weeks ago, in the face of a snowstorm, I decided to work from home and avoid the messy commute to our downtown Toronto offices. I’m happy to report that I was quite productive that day, notwithstanding the lure of hot chocolate, pajamas and a good movie.

With the advent of Blackberrys, high-speed Internet, e-mail and remote computer access, more and more lawyers are changing the way they work, including where they work. More lawyers are learning to operate from home-based workspaces, at least some of the time. This allows lawyers to be more flexible and juggle the competing demands of work and family. You can get home for dinner with the family, and then catch up on e-mails and get a head start on the next day’s work. I personally telecommute every day, thanks to my Blackberry.

Is there a telework revolution afoot in the legal profession? Many studies show that teleworking two to three days a week actually increases productivity. It certainly leads to increased flexibility and mobility. However, my own view is that it would be difficult to work 100 percent of the time from home. The practice of law involves personal contact, with both colleagues and clients.

It is likely too early to tell whether a revolution is taking place. However, there’s no denying that the telework age is here, and lawyers are reaping the benefits, at least some of the time.

Have a great day!
Bianca

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Yesterday, I wrote about an amazing book by Mitch Albom that I came across recently called “For One More Day”. In the introduction to the book, the author peaks your interest by asking the following question:

"Have you ever lost someone you love and wanted one more conversation, one more chance to make up for the time when you thought they would be here forever?"

Short answer? Well, of course!

The book is a fascinating story of a son and his mother who were in fact fortunate enough to be able to get "one more day" together. Imagine how priceless that must be – an opportunity to say the words that were never said, to share the thoughts that were never spoken, and to rid the relationship of any lingering regret …

Charley’s mother left him with words of wisdom regarding his impending marriage, words which (with slight modification) really can apply to any relationship it seems. She said:

“You have to work at it together. And you have to love three things. You have to love:

(i) each other

(ii) children

(iii) your marriage.

... There may be times that you fight, and sometimes you … won’t even like each other. But those are the times you have to love your marriage. It's like a third party. Look at your wedding photos. Look at any memories you've made. And believe in those memories, they will pull you back together."

Although it may seem trite, it was a beautifully written book that reminded me to make sure that I spend the time with my parents and family now, instead of trying to wait for another day, which may never come.

I highly recommend this story to anyone looking for a “reality check”.

Have a great weekend! All the best – Suzana.

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Recently, I had an opportunity to relax a bit and actually do some fun, as opposed to work-related, reading. I read an amazing book by Mitch Albom, who is the author of international best sellers, "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" and "Tuesdays with Morrie". Mr. Albom wrote another book called "For One More Day". 

"For One More Day" is the story of a relationship that is important to many of us as parents - that being the relationship between a mother and a son. It explores the intriguing question, "What would you do if you could spend one more day with a lost loved one?"

In the book, Charley Bonato does just that, at a very important stage in his life. Charley was essentially raised alone by his mother and, many years later, as a broken man, he decides to take his own life. After a failed attempt to do just that, he ends up spending "just one more day" with his mother.

As the author notes, the story is about a family and, as there is a ghost involved, it could be called a "ghost story"; every family, however, is a ghost story and the dead sit at your table long after they have gone. It’s the sharing of tales of those we've lost that helps us keep from really losing them.

Tomorrow, I’ll tell you a bit more about this remarkable piece of work.

Till then, all the best – Suzana.

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Like many North Americans, I invested a large part of my Sunday evening taking in Super Bowl XLI. While I enjoyed watching the game, as usual, the off-field circus surrounding the event proved just as fascinating as the big game itself.

This year I was particularly struck by how Super Bowl advertisements have merged traditional and non-traditional forms of advertising. With the rise of Internet videos, blogs, and online file sharing, some have suggested that the medium of television may be obsolescent technology. Well, in my opinion, Super Bowl advertisements are but one more example that this is not the case.

Super Bowl advertisements demonstrate the extent to which television and the Internet can function symbiotically. Snickers’ new advertisement is an excellent example. In the weeks before the Super Bowl, Snickers posted four versions of a commercial on their website.  Visitors were offered the chance to view the commercials and vote online for their top choice, which then ran as a Super Bowl commercial. I’ll avoid the obvious pun about how it can be satisfying to choose your own commercial.

The massive interest in Super Bowl ads is also reflected in the online content dedicated to Super Bowl ads. Thanks to CBS Sports Line, new ads were posted online quarter-by-quarter, as if they were highlights. Those ads that don’t make the CBS highlight list will be posted on AOL, iFilm , Google Video , and YouTube where they can be replayed ad infinitum. Not to mention the many other blogs out there that will be devoting content to reviewing the best ads of the night.

I guess we are not in the last quarter of television after all.

Jason Allan

 

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The cover story of the October/November 2006 issue of National, the magazine published by the Canadian Bar Association, dealt with the interesting topic of artificial intelligence (AI) software and its effect on the legal profession. I was quite surprised to learn that some global corporate law firms are selling legal opinions created by the use of expert cyberspace systems. Apparently, a client answers a series of interactive computerized questions designed to collect relevant facts, and presto! A legal opinion is produced.

The article notes that many courts and legal aid organizations are also relying on the intelligent preparation of forms and court documents to expand access to justice.

The article notes that Australia is leading the way in lawyer automation, while in Canada, it is still in its infancy.

Is AI software leading to the eventual automation of the legal profession? Will lawyers become irreplaceable? According to the article, the answer is no. Many intelligent software programs are designed to assist lawyers in giving advice to clients. In addition, by using such programs, lawyers free up more time to engage in analytical thinking and focus on creative legal solutions. Machines, thankfully, cannot reproduce such human abilities. Especially with complex matters, human lawyers will be needed and valued for their judgment and expertise.

In the estates and trust area, we have seen do-it-yourself Will and power of attorney kits. There are also electronic versions of such kits, replete with brief explanations of the law and instructions on how to execute the prepared documents. Perhaps do-it-yourself trust documents are not far behind. However, while such kits may be cost-effective in the short term, the resulting legal documents may lead to costly problems of interpretation and litigation in the long run. In Ontario, having a Will or Trust prepared by a lawyer is still relatively reasonably priced. In my view, paying extra to retain a human lawyer who will employ a personal touch and reasoned judgement, instead of using a do-it-yourself kit, automated or otherwise, is well worth the cost. Some things just don’t come in a box…or AI software.

Have a great day!

Bianca La Neve

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Ontario’s Rules of Civil Procedure mandate that in civil litigation, one must disclose electronic data (see the definition of “document” and “electronic” in Rule 1.03). However, there is very little guidance in the Rules or the case law about exactly how to disclose electronic data.

In today’s technology age, where the majority of our communications are via e-mail and not paper documents, electronic or e-discovery has become increasingly important. We’ve seen the importance of e-discovery in complex commercial litigation. Yet, it can be important and useful even in the context of less complex lawsuits, such as wrongful dismissal claims where e-mails can help form an employer’s case against an ex-employee.

It seems that many in the legal profession are unfamiliar with their clients’ obligations to preserve and produce electronic documents, and with the technology available to retrieve, search and produce such documents. In response to this deficiency, the Ontario Bar Association (OBA) recently released their Guidelines for the Discovery of Electronic Documents. The Guidelines address the preservation, retrieval, exchange and production of documents from electronic sources in electronic form. The Guidelines also explain important terminology relevant to e-discovery. For example, “metadata” is electronic information recorded about a particular document, such as its format and how, when and by whom it was created, saved or modified. “Active data” is data that is currently used in day-to-day operations.

Is e-discovery relevant to estate litigation? I believe that, with time, it will become more relevant. More and more people are keeping electronic records of all kinds of information, from financial transactions to diary-type entries concerning family relationships. For example, I learned of a situation in which a beneficiary believed that a testator had kept detailed electronic records during her lifetime of cash loans made to family members. The family members denied the existence of the loans and the electronic evidence of such loans appeared to have been deleted. Efforts were made to recover the deleted information.

E-discovery can form the basis of successful litigation, including Will challenges. The OBA’s e-discovery guidelines can help all lawyers cope with this new way to litigate.

Have a great day!
Bianca La Neve

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We thought it might be a good idea to follow up on the recent trends in legal blogging. One interesting blog is posted fairly regularly by Doug Jasinski , who writes an insightful blog about lawyers generally.

In his recent December 4, 2006 blog, Doug touches on the ever-important life balance that lawyers must maintain. He takes us to a recent study done by a group called Catalyst , who wrote a report: Beyond Reasonable Doubt: Lawyers State Their Case on Job Flexibility. The study involved 1400 lawyers and there were some helpful tips on what it means as a lawyer to have “flexible work hours”. Obviously, the use of technology plays an important role in allowing a fuller balance between family and work for many lawyers. We encourage you to take a look at this study.

All the best, Suzana and Ian.

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On a recent Marketing Monger podcast of November 22, the host of the show, Eric, spoke with the owners of a start-up company called Famundo. This is a company that has designed a computer software program expressly for the use of families and community organizations.

This interesting company has created organizational software that is much more than simply another “appointments calendar” program.

During the podcast, Eric pressed his guests on this issue and we were told about all of the different additional add-on features of what is a program designed to help busy families to better organize their world.

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During Hull on Estates Episode 33, we highlighted Hull & Hull LLP's new website including outlining the resources on the website such as:

•  Blogs;
•  Podcasts;
•  Video Streaming; 
• The Probator;
• News and Events;
• Links and;
• Hull Estate Mediation.

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In the August 31, 2006 Harvard Business Review Ideacast, listeners were treated to another useful podcast on dealing with innovation within the company, and secondly dealing with under-performing employees in a company. Essentially, the podcast addresses both sides of an important management aspect of running a business.

The podcast considered changes to the business model, whereby sources of innovation and change are no longer primarily being sought from internal sources. Rather, they are introduced into the corporate environment by external resources.

The host of the first portion is Jeff Kehoe who sat down with author Henry Chesborough to look at Chesborough's model for open innovation.

Chesborough initially made the point that invention is something that is new and untested, whereas innovation is essentially taking an idea into the marketplace and doing something with it. Once you are able to separate these two ideas, one can be inventive but not at all innovative. Furthermore, you can be innovative without being particularly inventive. Innovation is all about solving a problem once it is in the the market and it is not completed until a positive benefit has been achieved.  

There were many more interesting aspects of this podcast so we highly recommend listening to it in its entirety.

All the best , 

Suzana and Ian.

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Continuing with our review of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast of September 12, 2006, Debbie Weil reminds us that there truly is a ROB (Return on Blogs).

In her view, there are three central aspects of what you can expect to get out of blogging in a corporate environment. The first is buzz. This is the word-of-mouth that gets created about your product or service.

The second is "brand". In Debbie's view, blogging can truly enhance your brand. If blogging is done properly, it really does make you or your company more authentic, more transparent, and as a result, more appealing.

The third aspect that Debbie describes is the "blooper effect". She indicates that if you have the open channel, established by having a blog, and something goes wrong  in the process of providing your service or product,  you have an avenue to publish a response and to address the issue directly.

This podcast certainly gave us both true inspiration as we have worked hard to provide a regular blog and certainly from ours and Debbie Weil's perspective, it appears to be a venture that is financially worthwhile.

All the best,

Suzana and Ian.

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John Jantsch, the host of the excellent podcast, Duct Tape Marketing, interviewed Debbie Weil for the DTM podcast of  September 12, 2006.

Debbie is a marketing and public relations consultant with a core focus on social media for companies and the author of The Corporate Blogging Book.

At the outset of the interview, Debbie was put to the challenge and asked, what is a blog?

In Debbie's view, a blog is a form of website, specifically an interactive website. The beauty of a blog is that it is so easy to publish and update, you do not need to have a lot of  knowledge about technology to regularly publish entries. She emphasizes that a blog truly puts the "website" back into the hands of those who are dealing with the product on a day-to-day basis and is truly an efficient and strategic way to market your product and services.

Debbie reminds us that we cannot let our guard down and in any way send out weak content or long messages, as this can easily happen given the free flow of information when publishing within the context of a blog.

We are also reminded that inherent within the existing blog publishing software is a fairly straightforward and easy method of distribution out into the blogosphere. Essentially if you can produce good work, then good blog software will disseminate that work fairly rapidly and easily.

We encourage you to listen to this podcast if you are interested in trying to get a better sense of the use of blogs in the corporate environment.

All the best,

Ian and Suzana.

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The MarketingMonger Podcast #84 explored a new podcasting trend as the host, Eric Mattson, interviewed Chris Brooks, the CEO of an interesting podcast adjunct, Talkr.

Talkr is a program which takes a RSS feed and converts it into audio.  You can take the feed from a blog or from a media source webpage, such as a headline in the New York Times, and Talkr will pull those feeds every hour and once a new entry is available, the text will be converted into audio format so that it can be listened to at your convenience, just like a podcast.

Another useful source of  Talkr is that you can include a "listen to this" button to your blogpage, and the Talkr program will convert your blogposts into audio and allow those listeners who would prefer to listen instead of read, to access your blog in an audio format.

If you are interested in trying out the program quickly, it is installed on the Talkr blogpage.

Good luck in your review of this interesting and innovative social media tool.

All the Best,

Ian and Suzana

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During Duct Tape Marketing's August 16 2006 podcast, the host, John Jantsch, interviewed Seth Godin, who has just published a new book,   Small is the New Big, which is essentially a compliation of Seth's popular blogs.

The theme of this book is that big used to matter.  Working for big companies used to be enviable, as big companies could defeat small companies with large marketing and advertising budgets. People were obsessed over the economies of scale and no one ever talked about economies of little.

However,  Seth's view is that when treat people with respect and as individuals, you have the flexibility to react to different changes and circumstances, in a sense you are acting small.

Seth points out that it doesn't matter if you are a big or small businesses, rather he is saying that businesses must focus on how they act, and the way that they operate in their own economic environment. When you act small, you can eventually become big.

Therefore, Seth expresses that in his experience there does not seem to be any core relationship between the size of the business and how the business acts.

One of the significant changes over the past short while, in Seth's view, is that people will now seek out information that they think is either important or interesting to them. As there are more alternatives, people are pickier about what they will participate in. He notes that the minute that you treat the client or consumer like a cog in the wheel, you will find your customer/client immediately looking at another competitive alternative.

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During Hull on Estate and Succession Planning Episode 30, we discussed our attendance at the Calgary STEP Seminar, the family meeting and the process followed during the family meeting and we discussed the new book by Jordan Atin, Barry Fish and Les Kotzer entitled "The Family War, Winning the Inheritance Battle".

 

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During Hull on Estates Podcast #29, Ian Hull and Jordan Atin, Senior Associate Counsel at Hull and Hull LLP, spoke with Kate Morgan, President of Podwise Social Media Inc. to discuss the concepts of Social Media and how they are relevant to the growth and success of law firms and small businesses.

 

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During episode #25 of Hull on Estates, we discussed the expansion of social media and its effect on business development. We also discussed the principal concepts found in Chris Anderson's book, The Long Tail. We have blogged extensively about this innovative book, so if you would like more information, see our category, "New Media Observations".

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In the August 16, 2006 edition of marketingonline.com podcast, we were treated to a summary of the first five of ten commandments of good podcasting.

We were told that commandment number 1 was, "Thou shall ask thy audience". Essentially, we were advised that we need to turn the business methodology around, whereby the message is not necessarily coming from you rather it is being framed by your clients, listeners and consumers. Essentially, the market creates the message. The fact is, with digital techonology, as the podcasters remind us, we can find out what people want relatively quickly and we can respond to that request in a timely manner.

The second commandment is, "Thou shall know your audience". When starting a podcast and looking for a relevant audience, you really must understand who you are talking to. In the course of asking and knowing, you begin to understand what is important to your audience and why it is important to them. It is only at that point that you can give your audience appropriate content.

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In C.C. Chapman's August 23 2006 podcast, Managing the Gray, he addressed the difficult business challenge of keeping the best talent. C.C. took the time during this podcast to give us some advice and strategies on how to keep good talent in your organization.

First and foremost, C.C. makes the point that it is not about the money. He acknowledges that there are some people who are motivated by money and it is their only motivator; however, in his personal view, someone with this kind of work ethic is not someone that he would want on his team. C.C. suggests that you use these types of people as consultants and pay for their expertise; however, avoid making them essential players on your team. C.C. quite properly acknowledges that people always want more money and no good talent is going to refuse money; however, he indicated, once again, that if making money is the primary goal, then you can be assured that the individual in question will not be a good fit.

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In the August 17, 2006 Harvard Business Review IdeaCast, there was an interesting discussion on how to deal with and ultimately change people who are known to be resistant to change. It was suggested that every attempt to make any significant change in an organization is always faced with some percentage of change resisters, and no matter how well you plan your suggested change, it is almost impossible to avoid some resistance.

Indeed, change resisters must be seen as a fact of organizational life, and, as a result, you simply must plan to deal with them and accept the fact that they are inevitable in any dynamic, business or professional environment. Techniques that are employed to help transition organizations through change include building a sense of urgency and a process of meaningful inclusion. Any change must also include clear communication.

When addressing change resisters, you may want to first consider where the inevitable resistance to the proposed changes would most harm the organization. In fact, you may want to consider in what areas change resistance could ultimately cripple the organizational structure. It has been suggested that you need to focus your efforts first in this area.

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Continuing with his analysis of the niche culture, Anderson, in Chapter 11 of The Long Tail, uses a startling illustration of the effect of the niche culture on what we typically call mainstream media.

He notes (at page 185) that the traditional news media delivery system has been dramatically transformed since the mid 1980s and that the circulation of typical newspapers is down more than 1/3 as a result of the inroads of the Internet. Anderson notes that, in the past, the power of newspapers came from their command over their tools of production. Now anyone with a laptop and an Internet connection can have access to the power of the press.

Initially, newspapers and other traditional media forums tried to take advantage of this change toward digital technology; however, the growth of niche interests and people creating their own homepages and blogpages provided for a distinctly different approach to the delivery of news. Anderson cites (at page 185-186) Richard Posner, an eminent Judge and legal scholar, who talks about the fact that a blogger can target a much narrower segment of the reading public than a newspaper or television news channel. In effect, the blogs pick off mainstream media's plushest customers, one by one, as they can serve the niche where their old media precursors can only discuss the issue in terms of the masses.

Have a great weekend, Suzana and Ian.

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In our last blog, we talked about abundance and the concept of the "paradise of choice" that Anderson has developed in his book, The Long Tail. In this blog, we would like to look at the possibility of having too much choice. As Anderson notes at page 170 of The Long Tail, the overwhelming reality of our on-line age is that everything can be available.

He goes on to ask, "Can we handle this much choice?" This question becomes increasingly relevant given the abundance of information on the Internet, and our conventional view that the more choice, the better. However, Anderson delves deeper and points us to an influential book published in 2002 by Barry Schwartz - The Paradox of Choice, where the author indicates that too much choice is not just confusing, but downright oppressive. At page 171, Anderson notes how Schwartz describes the conclusion of The Paradox of Choice:

As the number of choices keeps growing, negative aspects of having a multitude of options begin to appear. As the number of choices grows further, the negatives escalate until we become overloaded. At this point, choice no longer liberates, but debilitates. It must even be said to tyrannize.

Anderson provides us with daunting statistics such as the fact that Amazon offers more than 1,200 different kinds of jams through its small speciality food merchants. Given these potentially overpowering statistics, we are of course comforted by the fact that search engines such as Google have the ability to take what could be the infinite chaos of the Web and bring it down to a manageable level.

As Anderson notes (at page 176), digital distribution has two effects on the traditional models of sales and distribution: it widens the field of possible customers and shortens the search time. Over time, it should increase sales and contribute to the growth of the overall market.

All the best, Suzana and Ian.

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In Chapter 5 of The Long Tail Anderson reminds us that we now live in a society of new producers. He cites author Doc Searls, who calls this shift one from consumerism to participative "producerism":

The "consumer economy" is a product-controlled system in which consumers are nothing more than energy sources that metabolize "content" into cash. This is the absolutely corrupted result of the absolute power held by producers over consumers since producerse won the Industrial Revolution. Apple is giving consumers tools that make them producers. The practice radically transforms both the marketplace and the economy that thrives on it (page 64).

As Anderson notes, today millions of ordinary people have the necessary tools, such as the iPod, and the role models to become amateur producers. The Wikipedia phenomenon is a fascinating example of how amateurs are gaining credibility in "The Long Tail" consumer society.

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At page 52 of his book, The Long Tail, Chris Anderson sums up his theory as follows: our culture and economy are increasingly shifting away from a focus on a relatively small number of hits (mainstream products and markets) which constitute the head of the demand curve, and moving interest toward a huge number of niches in the tail.

Anderson indicates that there are six themes of The Long Tail:

1. There are far more niche goods than hits.

2. The costs of reaching those niches is now falling dramatically.

3. Search techniques and the range of tools for ranking effectively filter the mass of products and enable customers to find what they desire, driving demand down the tail.

4. The demand curve eventually flattens. There are still hits and niches, but in less extremes.

5. There are so many niche products that, collectively, they can comprise a market rivalling the hits.

6. The natural shape of demand is revealed and it is far less hit-driven than we have been led to believe. Instead, it is as diverse as the population itself. In an effort to better understand this recent trend, Anderson highlights a speech given by News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch in 2005. Murdoch proclaimed:

Young people don't want to rely on a Godlike figure from above to tell them what's important...They want control over their media, instead of being controlled by it.

Murdoch's speech led Anderson to note that this positive change in our culture can be explained by the phenomenen of the Long Tail, where we can all be creators and producers of our own niche products. More on this in tommorrow's blog.

Thanks, Ian and Suzana.

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Following yesterday's discussion regarding the definition of "The Long Tail", we were interested in Anderson's analysis of this term by use of a creative analogy: imagine today's culture as if it were an ocean and the only features which can rise above the surface of the water are islands of blockbuster hits. We must thus imagine the water line as the economic threshold or the amount of sales necessary to satisfy the distribution channels. The islands represent the products that are popular enough to rise above that line, and thus profitable enough to be offered through distribution channels with scarce capacity, which is to say the shelf space demands dictated by the most powerful retailers.

However, these islands are, of course, just the tips of a vast undersea mountain. With the new shape of cultural commerce and the Internet's increasingly extraordinary economic efficiencies, niche products, previously submerged under the water, can now be recognized and found through the use of powerful search engines. This abundance of niche products which exist beneath the surface, therefore, has the capability to become a larger economy than the small one which has risen above the water. We will continue our discussion of Chris Anderson's The Long Tail in tomorrow's blog.

Thanks, Ian and Suzana.

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In yesterday's blog, we discussed Chris Anderson's fascinating book, The Long Tail. In Chapter One, Anderson provides us with a glimpse of his views on hit-driven economics. Data indicates that most of us want more than hits. Everyone's taste departs from the mainstream at some point and the greater our access to these vast alternatives, the more we are drawn to them.

Unfortunately, until recently, these alternatives were relegated to the fringes by overpowering marketing vehicles built by the industries which needed them to assure the success of their blockbuster hits. However, today's system of online distribution and retail makes these alternative niche products accessible and easily reached.

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This summer, we had the pleasure of reading several interesting books; the one that had the most profound effect on us, however, was Chris Anderson's book entitled The Long Tail.

We note from the outset of the book that Anderson's theory was essentially developed out of a 2004 conversation that he had with a friend of his, Robbie Vann-Adibe, the CEO of ECAST, a digital jukebox company. At page 7, Anderson describes the similarity of a digital jukebox and a regular jukebox as both are big enclosures with speakers and blinking lights, often found in bars. However there is one main difference between the two. Rather than a hundred CDs, a digital jukebox has a broadband connection to the Internet and patrons can therefore choose from thousands of tracks that are then downloaded and stored on a local hard drive.

During this conversation between Anderson and Vann-Adibe, Anderson asked Vann-Adibe what percentage of the 10,000 albums available in the jukeboxes sold at least one track per quarter. To Anderson's astonishment, the answer was 98%. Anderson soon found out the songs didn't sell in big numbers, but nearly all of them sold something. At page 8, Vann-Adibe explained to Anderson that in a world of minimal packaging costs and instant access to almost all content in a digital format, consumers exhibit consistent behaviour: they look at almost everything.

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In a recent blog, we wrote about some of C.C. Chapman's thoughts as shared with his listeners in his podcast "Managing the Gray". In the podcast released on June 4, 2006, C.C. provided listeners with a few ways to help "push" new media and the whole social media agenda.

The first suggestion he made is that we need to be prepared to play the fool. In other words, if we are innovative and a discussion is moving down one direction, we need to be prepared to think "outside the box" and step in with what may seem to be a foolish suggestion.

C.C. reminds us that we need to make sure that we have plenty of ammunition and armour in such situations. That's because people are going to come at you and attack you from many angles - from the finance through to technology issues, through to business and practical considerations such as moral and ethical issues. We need to be ready for those attacks and have a thick skin.

C.C. goes on to say that we need to be ready to answer all of the questions and to be prepared to address the concerns of the naysayers. This is our "armour" in such situations. In addition, we need to be ready, not only with the armour, but also with the ammunition, and be prepared to provide tangible examples to illustrate the real nature of the allegedly foolish suggestion. C.C. reminds us that we have to make sure that we have done our research and that we are ready in that situation.

That's all for now ... All the best, Ian and Suzana. --------

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Some of the great Podcasters note that, in the future, we will have more ear time than eye time.

Ian recently looked at an interesting book by Evan I. Schwartz entitled, "Digital Darwinism". In his book, Schwartz compares the competitive struggle to the battle between species that occurs in the natural environment. He concludes that, in order to succeed, companies must be better than their competitors, much like the survival of the fittest in nature. Whatever market niche they select, they have to be "smarter, faster, more innovative, and more adaptable" than ever, so that they do better than others.

After examining the successes and failures of many different e-commerce competitors, the author identifies key strategies to survive and thrive on the Web. In Digital Darwinism, we are presented with "7 Breakthrough Business Strategies for Surviviing in the Cuthroat Web Economy". They are:

1. Build a brand that stands for solving problems;

2. Allow your prices to fluctuate freely with supply and demand;

3. Let affiliate partners do your marketing for you;

4. Create valuable bundles of information and services;

5. Sell custom-made produces online, then manufacture them;

6. Add new value to transactions between buyers and sellers; and

7. Integrate digital commerce with absolutely everything.

Schwartz is also the author of "Webonomics", which talks about "9 Essential Principles for Growing Your Business on the World Wide Web". Blogging is one of those innovative marketing strategies that helps you survive in the Digital Darwinism world. Blogging uses the concept of social software in allowing for direct and indirect interaction from one individual to a group of individuals.

As a good examples of how big the social interaction has grown, the program "My Space", currently has approximately 40,000,000 dating participants. While this program has a wide variety of social interaction, including dating and teenager participants, from a business perspective, for example, the music business, My Space is an essential place to be. Just because a program appears to be on the surface simply something for consumers, such as a dating service, when you look deeper within the service you may find that it incorporates many niche market produces and services. Therefore, it may well be a business opportunity, given the numbers involved.

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Dr. Ken Envoy has written a book, "Make Your Site Sell! 2002", which initiated his creation of a course package for Internet marketing. The package explains the three steps of successful Internet marketing. Make Your Site Sell is a guide that instructs readers how to increase sales through leading with product. The course teaches you how to develop and position products for the Web, whether you sell one product or sell many in an online store. Furthermore, we're told that you must create a site that attracts customers and showcases your product and, thus, brings targeted traffic to your site. Evoy also impresses the importance of having a vision for your online business in order for you to be able to successfully work towards that goal.

Envoy proclaims that there are essentially four fundamental realities to using the Web to provide information and directing interested traffic your way - Content, Traffic, Pre-Selling and Monetization.

One must not forget that, as a lawyer, your billable time determines your income AND your non-billable time determines your future.

Marketing is a full contact sport. However, the business side of the law should not be forgotten and it can be helpful to, from time to time, create a business plan to serve as a blueprint for your law firm's financial success. Without a business plan, a firm is essentially rudderless, and day-to-day decisions are likely to be haphazard and reactive, in stark contrast to those firms implementing a well thought-out business plan. Designed for lawyers, "The Lawyer's Guide to Creating Your Business Plan" is a complete, easy-to-use customized Windows-based software package, that is the fastest, easiest way to research and write a winning business plan for a law firm. It's perfect for new or existing law firms, of every size.

All the best, Suzana and Ian. --------

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Alongside the emergence of the concepts of blogging and podcasting, there are a host of new hardware and software programs geared to help the average consumer stay up-to-date with these revolutionary communication mediums. For instance, www.pocketpc.com is a Microsoft website that showcases various handheld mobile devices, which operate in a similar fashion to the Blackberry and the Treo. These Windows-powered PCs are a great option for online business and personal needs on the go, and they make the consumption of our blog and podcast, possible anywhere, even more efficient. You determine when and where you want to listen and learn.

An interesting and humourous site we discovered while roaming the web for podcasts is www.topofthepods.com. Every weekday, Top Of The Pods discusses a new top ten list via podcast. The hosts, Jon and Rob, bring you views, reviews and top tens. Each podcast is between 15 to 30 minutes long and covers a different topic each day. Listeners are encouraged to send in their top ten lists with an emphasis on obscure, wacky and weird topics ranging from top ten Bond films to top ten dining faux pas.

Reid Trautz is the creator of the blog "Reid My Blog! Furthering Innovation in Management, Governance & Ethics for Lawyers". He is one of the leading consultants in the United States for practice management and he specializes in counseling lawyers. His well-written and informative blog page reflects the depth of his knowledge, as he moves beyond legal advice into the "nitty gritty" of the legal profession, exploring the psychology of both the lawyer and the client and focusing on dissecting the expectations of clients. Trautz expresses that an understanding of what a client wants allows a lawyer to better serve the client's needs and find him, her or it an appropriate solution for what is often a very personal and upsetting situation.

Trautz recommends the practice management book by Gerald Riskin, a global management consultant and advisor to many of the worlds' largest law firms. In his book, "The Successful Lawyer: Powerful Strategies for Transforming Your Practice", Riskin explains why the foundation of a successful practice resides in the management of ideas, the management of the client relationship, active listening, the managing of client expectations, and putting these expectations to work - all topics that are similarly explored in Trautz' blog.

Furthermore, Riskin allots a large section of his book to a discussion of the business side of the law. Trautz also considers the distinction between the practice of law as a profession and the law practice as a business, noting the relevance of podcasts and blogs as an effective forum for lawyers to keep themselves up-to-date with this ever-changing world, and thus to act accordingly.

All the best, Ian and Suzana. --------

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In a recent podcast presented by one of the world's leading podcasters, C.C. Chapman (June 17/06 - Managing the Gray) made several important points. He was discussing the fact that, in a recent podcasting chat forum that he was participating in, someone suggested that podcasting was not something that a business should be interested in as it was purely an entertainment vehicle.

C.C. Chapman strongly disagreed with this suggestion and indicated that, at the end of the day, podcasting is truly about content and every business is in the business of producing content. He emphasized the fact that quality content is something that a business always wants to reach out to its customers with, and he stressed that we must not engage in podcasting that is more sales-oriented. He further emphasized the fact that we should be focusing our podcasting on the content, as opposed to the presentation and the glitzy format.

C.C. Chapman cites as an illustration the use of podcasting by mainstream media such as BusinessWeek Magazine. BusinessWeek Magazine has a weekly podcast that is focused on its weekly cover story. The editor and the author of the article conduct a podcast to expand upon the paper version of the story on the cover of BusinessWeek. This is an excellent illustration of how to use podcasting in a business environment and how to use it in a way that enhances an existing marketing plan.

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Ian has just returned back from spending some time at the Podcasters Across Borders Conference. The Conference was a chance for Podcasters all over the world to get together and talk about their Podcasting experience. There were Podcasters from as far a way as the U.K. and throughout Canada and the U.S.

Friday night was a real highlight as the attendees were treated to a speech from none other than Shelagh Rogers of CBC's Sounds Like Canada. Shelagh was just back from Edmonton where she had her hair cut off in support of her friend who is suffering from cancer. Shelagh did this to raise money for the local Edmonton cancer research centre.

Shelagh is a supportive Podcaster and has her own Podcast. She told the audience about her Podcasting experience and she offered some important advice.

She reminded us to always use a sentence beginning with a subject followed by a verb and an object. She suggested that we use direct and active verbs when we speak and NEVER use terms like "everyone". She indicated that we should talk to the listeners as though they are right in the room with you and not to address an audience generally.

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