Brenda Collins brings 30 years of Sales Experience to GLI
July 26, 2010

Bowling Green, KY – GLI (Grimes Legal, Inc.) welcomes Brenda Collins as a Recruiting Specialist. At GLI, a sampling of Brenda’s responsibilities includes sourcing, identifying, recruiting, and counseling legal professionals in order to place them in client legal organizations and contacting law firms and organizations to identify permanent placement needs and business requirements.

“Brenda brings a wealth of business, sales and management experience to GLI. Her vast human resource experience in major US markets such as Boston, Dallas, Denver, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Portland and Seattle will be invaluable as GLI expands into other venues”, says Nancy Grimes, President and Managing Partner of GLI.

Brenda has served in all aspects of the search process, from conducting original search on candidates to meeting with large institutions and committees to determine their need for the appropriate fit, with the past 10 years primarily focused on healthcare, hotel and hospitality, food service and entertainment. Prior to that, her main placement opportunities came in higher education where Brenda received President Club accolades 4 of her 6 years with American Education Center, now known as Education Management Corporation. She has successfully placed senior level personnel in sales, marketing, human resources, general management, event management and collegiate disciplines.

Brenda has a firm commitment in building and fostering strong relationships with both clients and candidates that are grounded in integrity. She has developed a strong network throughout the country within the executive search and educational communities, knowing that the candidates she helps place also become clients.

In addition to her duties at GLI, Inc., Brenda takes great pride in being active as a community volunteer, and creating and developing a program for at-risk individuals coming out of the penal or home incarceration program find work with application, job interview and placement skills.

Brenda graduated from Brown Mackie College in Salina, KS with a degree in Business Management.

For more information on GLI, log on to www.grimeslegal.com

Contact:
Tonya D. Johnson
Director of Marketing
GLI/Grimes Legal, Inc.
Email: tdjohnson@grimeslegal.com

About Grimes Legal, Inc.

Grimes Legal, Inc. was founded to provide businesses with a unique resource for locating, qualifying and recruiting proven performers in diverse areas of specialization. We achieve this by first working to understand the business needs of our clients. This requires thorough research into nuances of the industries in which our clients flourish, learning the philosophies of management which guide our clients’ business and professional strategies and focusing objectively on their individual cultures.

All Rights Reserved.                                www.grimeslegal.com

Bowling Green, KY

On May 20, 2010, GLI sponsored Karl Rove as the keynote speaker for Foundation Christian Academy’s first annual Benefit Dinner at Sloan Convention Center in Bowling Green, KY.

Karl Rove served as Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush from 2000–2007 and Deputy Chief of Staff from 2004–2007. Karl Rove has been described by respected author and columnist Michael Barone in U.S. News & World Report as “…unique…no Presidential appointee has ever had such a strong influence on politics and policy, and none is likely to do so again anytime soon.” Washington Post columnist David Broder has called Karl a master political strategist whose “game has always been long term…and he plays it with an intensity and attention to detail that few can match.” Fred Barnes, executive editor of The Weekly Standard, has called Karl “the greatest political mind of his generation and probably of any generation… He knows history, understands the moods of the public, and is a visionary on matters of public policy.”

By President Barack Obama

Published: 05/16/2010

President Obama delivering the graduation address at the University of Notre Dame in May 2009.

Congratulations. Since I couldn’t be at every high school and college commencement this year, I wanted to send a message to all of the graduates in this country who are about to embark on the next chapter of your young and promising lives.

There are generations of Americans who came of age during periods of peace and prosperity. When they graduated from high school or college, they entered a world of comfort and stability where little was required of them beyond their obligations to themselves and their families.

That is not the world you are about to inherit. You are growing up in a time of great challenge and sweeping change. You will search for jobs in an economy that is still emerging from one of the worst recessions in history. You will seek a profession in an era where a high school diploma and a factory job are no longer sure paths to success. And you will raise your children in a world where threats like terrorism and a changing climate cannot be contained within a country’s borders.

At times like these, when the future seems unsettled and uncertain, it can be easy to lose heart. When you turn on the television or read newspapers or blogs, the voices of cynicism and pessimism always seem to be the loudest.

Don’t believe them.

Yes, we are facing difficult times. But America has been through them before. In the 1930s, young men and women saw one-third of the nation ill-clothed, ill-housed, ill-fed, and later witnessed tyranny sweep across Europe and the Pacific. In the 1960s, millions of students participated in peaceful protests—against those who sought to keep them divided by race, against a war they believed unjust—and were met with billy clubs and fire hoses.

So many times in so many eras, Americans your age could have decided to just go about their own business, fend for themselves, and leave our country’s problems for somebody else to solve.

But they didn’t.

You are graduating today in part because those who came before you had the courage to look past their differences, face down their common difficulties, and perfect their union. It was young soldiers who pushed forward at Lexington and at Gettysburg, at Normandy and at Kandahar. It was graduates like you who looked across a continent and built the railroads, highways, schools, and universities that have fueled the most prosperous economy in the world. It was a 33-year-old Thomas Jefferson who wrote the Declaration of Independence; a 33-year-old Elizabeth Cady Stanton who organized the Seneca Falls Convention, the first national women’s rights convention; a 26-year-old Martin Luther King Jr. who began his journey to the mountaintop; and a 20-year-old Bill Gates who started one of the most transformative companies on Earth.

All of these Americans faced long odds. All of them faced doubt. Many grew up in times of discord and difficulty. Yet they knew that while America’s destiny is never certain, our ability to shape it always is. Ours is a history of renewal and reinvention, where each generation finds a way to adapt, thrive, and push the nation forward with energy, ingenuity, and optimism.

That is your charge as graduates—our future is in your hands. The United States is still a land of infinite possibilities waiting to be seized, if you are willing to seize them.

While government plays a role in making a more prosperous and secure future possible for America, the final outcome ultimately depends on you and the choices you make from here on out.

Of course, each of you has the right to take your diploma and seek the quickest path to the biggest paycheck or the highest title possible. But remember: You can choose to broaden your concerns to include your fellow citizens and country instead. By tying your ambitions to America’s, you’ll hitch your wagon to a cause larger than yourself. You can choose a career in public service or the nonprofit sector, or teach in an underserved school. If you have medical training, you can work in an understaffed clinic. Love science? You can discover new sources of clean energy or launch a business that makes the most efficient and affordable solar panels or wind turbines.

Or you may decide to make your mark in ways that may be smaller but are just as important—volunteering at a local shelter, tutoring or mentoring school kids, staying involved in the local and national debates that shape our lives and the life of our country, or raising your own children to be generous and productive Americans.

No matter what you choose to do, know that you have the ability—each one of you—to write the next chapter in America’s story. Starting your careers in troubled times is a challenge, but it’s also a privilege. When I left for Chicago after college to be a community organizer, I, like many of you, had no idea what the future would hold for me. What I did know was that somehow, in some way, I wanted to make an impact on the world around me.

It’s times like the ones you’re facing today that force us to try harder and dig deeper. Times like these move us to find the greatness we each have inside and, in doing so, rediscover the greatness that defines us as a nation. These are the tasks lying before you, and I have no doubt all of you are up to the challenge.

As allegations about the investment bank’s conduct in the mortgage and structured finance markets mount, check out opportunities on our website.

January 29, 2010

BOWLING GREEN, KY, JANUARY 29 – Carmen Fowler took top honors among GLI’s legal recruiters for 2009. The fact that this honor comes closely on the heels of Carmen’s one-year anniversary as a recruiter only makes the accomplishment that much sweeter. Carmen began her career in legal recruiting in November 2008, bringing with her an industrious entrepreneurial spirit and 20+ years of business experience. Full of enthusiasm and a burning desire to learn, Carmen sunk her teeth into recruiting and has found she very much likes the taste. Her jovial personality allows her to connect with candidates and hiring managers with ease.

When asked to what she contributes her unprecedented success, Carmen replied, “I’ve always been a firm believer in the saying…If not me, then who? If not now, when? After all, every shot you don’t take is a guaranteed miss.” Carmen’s accomplishment is all the more impressive in light of the economic pressures experienced in 2009. While other recruiters were changing careers at every turn, Carmen learned the ins and outs of the business, excelling in the process. With this Carmen will be motivated to continue to up her fame in 2010. We at GLI congratulate Carmen on her outstanding achievement and exceptional work ethic.

About Grimes Legal, Inc.

Grimes Legal, Inc. was founded to provide businesses with a unique resource for locating, qualifying and recruiting proven performers in diverse areas of specialization. We achieve this by first working to understand the business needs of our clients. This requires thorough research into nuances of the industries in which our clients flourish, learning the philosophies of management which guide our clients’ business and professional strategies and focusing objectively on their individual cultures.

All Rights Reserved.                                                                    www.grimeslegal.com

By Paul Cherner

                 The Centers for Disease Control and prevention (”CDC”) has just issued a report indicating that in the past six months 22 million Americans have become sick with the H1N1 influenza virus (a/k/a the “swine flu”), of which 4,000 have died.  As this pandemic shows no signs of abating, employers are faced with many legal issues in addition to being concerned about the health and safety of their workers,  customers and clients, while at the same time attempting to determine how best to carry on their businesses under these circumstances.

                 An excellent reference source for most questions pertaining to this pandemic  is the federal government’s website http://www.flu.gov., which contains very useful and specific information, as well as links to issues of specific concern to various businesses.

                The U.S. Department of Labor has just issued two sets of questions and answers concerning the impact of the Fair Labor Standards Act (”FLSA”) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (”FMLA”) on issues pertaining to employees absences from work and payment to employees who are directly or indirectly affected by the H1N1 flu virus.  Additional guidance is provided by the EEOC with respect to the impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act (”ADA”) on this pandemic situation. 

                As this situation has evolved, the federal government has continued to issue additional information and guidelines, some of which modified prior guidance.   Accordindly, continued monitoring of the main website -  www.flu.gov is advised.

Paul Cherner is a labor and employment attorney in Chicago, IL. Visit his blog at http://hrcounselblog.com

KEYS TO SUCCESS

Please note that the following steps are not listed by order of importance.  They are all equally vital to the success of lateral hiring.  Therefore, these are not “a la carte” suggestions from which you can pick and choose, but prototype of which all must be implemented to achieve success without unnecessary risk with your new hires. 

THE PROCESS

               I.      Someone must clearly “own the process” of managing the lateral attorney’s entry into the firm and integration for several months thereafter.

§         This should be an authoritative attorney and not a member of the firm’s HR or attorney recruitment staff.

Ø       There should be one partner who is fully empowered with the backing of the firm’s management committee to guide the process.

Ø       This person may be a practice group chair relevant to the new lateral.

Ø       There must be no question of this person’s authority to drive the process.

§         Those who are also involved in the process must receive concrete, appreciable recognition and compensation for this involvement.  The firm should:

Ø       Clearly outline the mission via well-publicized firm policy, identify the leadership involved in the process and reward the effort.

Ø       Institute a system of accountability so there is a high level of familiarity as to what exactly needs to be done.

Ø       Reward attorneys when it comes to compensation who help other attorneys develop business or who engage other attorneys to develop prospective business.

Ø       Track, as an element of the compensation decision, the efforts of attorneys who work with other attorneys in cross-marketing, internal marketing, business development between practice groups, introductions of existing clients to others in the firm, etc.

IMPLEMENTATION

             II.      Develop a Joint Business Plan Between the Firm and the Lateral.

§         Maximize the mutual benefit of the lateral move.

§         Designed to integrate the lateral and his business base.

§         To deal with client introductions.

§         Introduce the lateral to other practice groups in the firm.

§         To develop a marketing plan to expand the lateral’s business by exploiting the platform offered by the firm.

           III.      Focus on Improvement and Growth.

§   Focus on improvement of the lateral’s practice.

§   Focus on clients, firm’s existing clients and new business development.

§   Develop a plan for personal introductions and cross-selling.

           IV.      Develop an Awareness of the Lateral.

§         Have a champion within the firm, backed by management.

§         Arrange meetings with practice groups.

§         Introduction of the lateral of himself and his practice and clients.

§         Introductions of the lateral to business development meetings.

§         Identify those attorneys who best fit with the lateral, either for development of the lateral’s practice or the development of his clients.

§         Identify new opportunities and add them to the lateral’s business plan so the firm can help accomplish the growth and assist in the follow through.

             V.      Periodic Briefings.

§         Practice leaders should meet monthly with the lateral during his first 6 months with the firm to monitor the above practices and to avoid missed opportunities.

§         Review progress of the lateral’s integration with practice groups.

§         Review development of the new cross-marketing opportunities.

§         Use this as a time to interact and make sure there’s continued chemistry.

§         Identify a course of action which will help the lateral further integrate, which will help him feel he is an important member of the team.

           VI.      Technical and Human Support.

§         Make the lateral aware of the firm’s full array of resources.

§         From the very beginning, make sure the lateral has full access to associate and staff support.

§         Placement of the lateral’s office near active, dynamic attorneys and other synergistic practice groups.

§         Make sure others seek out the lateral for lunches or casual meet-and-greets.

§         Whenever possible, place the lateral on meaningful firm committees or in management positions.

CONCLUSION

Ability to expand and get support for the lateral’s practice is the single most important factor.

The next critical element is being integrated.

Having a well-defined and managed lateral integration plan and the commitment to the actual implementation should be at the forefront of everyone’s consciousness.

From the small town solo practitioner to the top national players, every law firm must get involved in marketing at some level in order to obtain and retain clients. The quality of work a firm does can maintain clients and become a source of referrals but in order to reach and garner potential clients, a certain marketing strategy must be implemented in order to achieve the firm’s goals.

Lawyers practice law. Marketers offer a service or product. Marketers and lawyers have very different backgrounds, personality types, and career expectations. Lawyers and marketers need to accommodate their differences and play to each other’s strengths in order to have a successful relationship. And so it becomes necessary for a law firm to entrust its marketing to either an outside firm or an in-house department dedicated to the promotion of their business.

Who you have marketing your services will greatly impact the success of the plan. If you entrust this task to a team with whom you do not have a relationship built on respect and clear communication, the goals will never be achieved. Broad, undefined goals will hinder the marketer’s success. An agent that is misinformed or makes assumptions about the firm’s record will sabotage the outcome of the marketing plan. This lack of clarity often results in an “us vs. them” environment, a culture that can range from tolerant to uninterested to hostile when lawyers relate to their marketing professionals.

There are key factors to consider when preparing your marketing plan. Here are just a few:

Know your business development staff and give them clear goals and expectations.

Most marketers recognize that lawyers must feel comfortable with the marketer’s style and approach to create a productive working relationship. Most marketers offer a reasonably substantial sample product and will also provide a free initial consultation. This information can help you determine whether you would like to work with a particular marketer.

Once you have chosen someone to represent you, it is the law firm’s responsibility to determine priorities, with the advice of their marketing professionals. Attorneys must learn how to delegate certain parts of the marketing plan, whether it’s sending out letters, making follow up phone calls after a seminar, sending out your monthly newsletter, or building your law firm website. Your job as an attorney is to do two things: bring in new clients and bill them for your services. Everything else should be delegated or outsourced.

It is critical you establish the priorities of your marketing plan and are willing to delegate important tasks to your key people or representative. Your relationship with a marketing executive will only be successful if they have a clear understanding of what you expect of them versus what they can reasonably deliver.

Focus on important, achievable actions that will result in satisfying clients and attracting prospects. Identify the areas of business, the specific partners, and the aspects of a marketing plan that will have the greatest impact. Recognize those practices, events, or even cities that have high potential for an expanded market.

The Right Support Can Do Wonders For Success

A well-formed and balanced team can bring about the best results in any situation. The right support may include a partner or partners whose enthusiasm and openness to the marketer’s ideas can serve as a liaison and create a nurturing relationship with the firm. Often the most senior partner is not necessarily the right person to be involved with the firm’s marketing but a partner who holds a clear understanding of the marketing goal is the best choice. A candid approach with each other will attain the right balance of experience and personnel, resulting in a common goal.

Trust & Respect Your Marketing Team!

Trust is developed and must be mutual. In order to delegate your law firm’s marketing plan you must have someone you can allocate to and you must trust them. You must believe the person entrusted with marketing has your best interests at heart and is competent. They must believe you will support their decisions and will not try to undermine their authority to make progress.

Perhaps choosing a marketing consultant who is either a practicing attorney or who formerly practiced will help gain that trust. Another possibility is to choose a consultant with considerable experience working with attorneys. Why is this important? As many of us know, most bars heavily regulate lawyer advertising, imposing all sorts of rules, so it can be essential for your marketing agent to be aware of ethics issues or at a minimum, be sensitive to them. By contrast, a marketer with no background in the law or with lawyers could recommend a marketing campaign that revolves around an ethically prohibited practice.

It is much more likely that business development staff will be respected if the expectations of the firm’s marketers are clear. If lawyers don’t know whether the marketing personnel at the firm are to perform a strategic role, a sales role, or something else, marketers may find themselves shut out of important decisions or avoided by the lawyers. Success comes when marketers and lawyers communicate clearly and with mutual respect.

Last But Certainly Not Least, Your Budget…

Ideas abound but funding is not always available for those ideas. The marketing budget is one expense that many law firms will consider reducing, or eliminating entirely, in the time of cutbacks. But studies have shown that this is the wrong move. When the economy is tight, it’s important to look at each marketing activity in terms of value and return on investment. Focus the majority of your firm’s marketing budget on investments that have low risk and high reward. If you have money left in the budget afterward, you can use it to test other marketing activities.

So whether your firm is large or small, survival rests on the basic principles of providing quality work and getting the word out there about your firm. With the assistance of a trusted, qualified marketing team the opportunities to expand your firm’s service are boundless.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nancy Grimes has over twenty years’ experience serving the legal industry. Clients include international, national, regional, local and independent law firms and attorneys. “Counsel to Counsel” is updated weekly. Have a question you’d like answered? Email it to ncgrimes@grimeslegal.com.

September 8, 2009

With the advent of the Internet, cell phones, wireless email devices and portable music players, many of us wear as a badge of honor our ability to multitask. But not so fast - a recent study by Stanford researchers concludes the opposite of what we might think: those of us who frequently are inundated with multiple sources of electronic information do not pay as close attention, control memory, or move from one task to another as well people who tend to complete one function or task at a time.

As part of the study, titled “Neural Predictors Of Moment-To-Moment Fluctuations In Cognitive Flexibility,” the researchers conducted several identical experiments on two groups - people who generally multitask and people who usually do not.

The groups were shown images of certain types of rectangles in one experiment, and they were told to ignore certain blue rectangles while determining the positions of red rectangles across image frames. In this experiment, it was the non-multitasking group that performed better than the multitasking group.

In yet another experiment, the non-multitasking group once more performed better than the multitasking group in picking out repeat instances of alphabetical letters appearing in sequences.

In one more experiment, the non-multitasking group again outperformed the multitasking group when it came to following instructions to focus on certain letters or numbers when shown images of letters and numbers at the same time.

Intuition may lead people to think that a multitasking population would do better at these juggling experiments than a non-multitasking group, because they supposedly are used to and generally handle multiple streams of information. But science disagrees.

At the end of the day, it appears from the Stanford study that people who multitask are less able to focus and have trouble ignoring irrelevant information. Indeed, they appear to be easily pulled away from what is important and right in front of them.

So, the next time you plan on moving back and forth between emails, text messages, Facebook, cell phone calls, television, work assignments, home projects, personal interactions, and driving a car, please consider tackling just one of these tasks at a time.

Of course, your author certainly can learn this lesson, but he was only interrupted by two phone calls while writing this piece - it could have been worse!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eric Sinrod is a partner in the San Francisco office of Duane Morris LLP (http://www.duanemorris.com) where he focuses on litigation matters of various types, including information technology and intellectual property disputes. His Web site is http://www.sinrodlaw.com and he can be reached at ejsinrod@duanemorris.com. To receive a weekly email link to Mr. Sinrod’s columns, please send an email to him with Subscribe in the Subject line.

This column is prepared and published for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author’s law firm or its individual partners.

While lateral associate hiring has generally slowed in this rough economy and in-house opportunities have become scarce, lateral partners are finding themselves in a favorable position to make a move.  Many firms have increased their efforts to hire partners in the practice areas that are proving to be profitable: intellectual property, bankruptcy, employee benefits, tax and litigation.  But just how do you initiate the change and make it a success?  It’s not as hard as one may think if you use the right tools and resources.

Often our first inclination is to network with friends or colleagues.  Be careful when calling on friends!  It may be true that a friend is always there when you need them, but in the case of calling on a friend at another firm, be mindful of the circumstances involved.  Know their status and position at the firm so his/her influence or recommendation doesn’t backfire on you.  When talking money, it is never wise to discuss compensation with friends and co-workers.  If your friend offers to counsel you on compensation negotiations, politely refuse the offer and handle it yourself.  No need for hard feelings or misguided counsel once they realize you are parleying for higher comp than theirs. 

Remember that you will have to decide if issues with the firm or negotiating with the firm are worth risking the friendship.  Sometimes it’s best to keep your allies at a distance and make your own opportunities.

So instead of relying on friends, why not trust the professionals?  This is your career we’re talking about!  You are a valuable asset and should be presented in that light.  An experienced, talented recruiter who knows the market, firm reputations and the right contacts can open doors for you that would never be accessible on your own.  You will know you are in good hands when your recruiter guides you through the entire process – from presenting firms to you that are a good fit both financially and culturally, to working on a business plan, completing questionnaires, and most of all assisting in the negotiation of your compensation and bonuses.  A recruiter that personally knows the hiring partners and recruitment coordinators can provide invaluable insight to a multitude of factors that can affect you including financial performance and stability, management style, and reputation.

Recruiters and headhunters can provide a smooth path to finding your new firm; however, it is important that you make the initial move.  Don’t just wait for them to find you!  You have to be assertive enough to initiate the first contact if you are ready for the change.  You have to do your own due diligence on firms that will best suit your practice and clients.  Being educated on the market, firm styles, and what each has to offer the other is working smart.  Often a headhunter is searching for someone to fill a specific slot within one particular firm.  That may not be the optimum position for you.

The key to a winning relationship with an experienced legal recruiter is to work as a team.  Be open to options you may not have considered.  Be sure your agent has quality information about as many firms and opportunities as possible.  Likewise, present firms that you have researched to the recruiter.  A seasoned recruiter can give you insight to a firm’s historical financial information; compensation arrangement; sources of capital; client base, as well as other issues. Additionally, you must consider the firm’s culture – will you be happy in that environment?  The way you are treated at your firm affects how successfully you practice law.  With the right support you can become an essential and vital team member.  If the firm is open to your associates joining you in your move and there are opportunities for them to make partner, it shows that they are interested in their strength and longevity.  Your recruiter may have already placed attorneys at a specific firm and can share previous experiences that demonstrate the firm’s culture.

And then of course there are issues of how to handle the process itself.  It may be years since you have had to prepare a resume or answer questions in an interview.  Your legal recruiter can advise you how to judiciously provide information to a firm you are in discussions with, what a partner can tell his or her clients about a possible move, and what to expect once you give your notice.  Counteroffers often lure a partner back because it is easier than the change but do counteroffers ever really prove to be beneficial to the partner? Your recruiter can provide guidance on these questions – rely on them to pilot you through the process step by step.

Be flexible and open to new ideas.  Listen and be patient.  Honest, open communication between you and your recruiter will result in more than just one opportunity knocking at your door!  Work smart with your recruiter to find your new firm and as a result, you, your clients and your new employer all reap the benefits.

Nancy Grimes has over twenty years’ experience serving the legal industry.  Clients include international, national, regional, local and independent law firms and attorneys.  “Counsel to Counsel” is updated weekly.  Have a question you’d like answered?  Email it to ncgrimes@grimeslegal.com.