Drrrring! The phone rings at the office, and an unexpected voice greets you. “You know what happened?” says the voice. You scour your brain in vain to recall what it could be about. What follows is a story of indignation over a fence dispute, a business deal gone sour, or — worst of all — a legal dispute with a rogue family member. “We thought,” says the appointed voice of the family cabal, “if we could only get him to listen to some sense. We wouldn’t ask you if we weren’t desperate.”

Lawyers are highly motivated service providers who seek client approval and referrals. Lawyers must understand exactly what clients value. Feedback usually comes from informal conversations and client surveys, but generally lawyers are not inclined to probe the deeper questions about the lawyer-client relationship and its multifaceted levels and intricacies. The reverse is also very important: how can clients better understand their lawyers?

This time last year, I was practising in the Vancouver office of a large national law firm and contemplating the future of my legal career. I was being offered a partnership and was enjoying my job, but working with so many clients who ran successful businesses stirred my entrepreneurial spirit, and I was drawn to wanting to build something of my own.

The words of John Rollwagen, the former CEO of Cray Research Inc., ring even truer today for the legal industry: “I believe very strongly that many times there is no right decision but to get on with it. I don’t care what you do. The important thing is to move ahead. Let’s just do it, because you’re not going to be right or wrong. It’s just one route and you can fix it after you start. But if you never start, you can never get there. That’s for damn sure.”

It is with no intended humour that I speculate that there are law firms claiming success in achieving their strategic targets having done so by shooting first and calling whatever they hit their target.

We regularly lose our humanity — not completely, but for moments at a time. What I mean by “humanity” is our ability to relate to those around us as human beings and to treat them with the respect with which we would like to be treated. We step behind the wheels of our cars and assume the role of driver in a hurry — impatient with those who get in our way.

Marie-Christine Brochu will be presenting tips for conducting commercial and contractual negotiations.

If you’re new to the life of in-house counsel you might benefit from learning a few tips from those who have some solid experience navigating the transition from a law firm to the life of the internal legal department.

A few months ago, I bought myself an iPad2. At first, I thought I would be using it primarily as my e-reader. However, as I started to become more familiar with the device, I realized it also had serious potential of being an effective and powerful tool in my law practice.

In keeping with this column’s intent of delivering practical sensible commentary/solutions to issues currently facing law firm management, I shared last month that I had invited a few folks to write on topics they were both passionate and knowledgeable about and this month’s column is the first one.

My January column was all about how to work. This month, I’ve been thinking a lot about how not to work (well, at scheduled intervals throughout the year). I’m taking my first official vacation as an associate this month, and I imagine many other first years have some winter holiday time booked, too. I took a few days off at Christmas, but was in town and worked as necessary. This time I’m headed out of the country for some fun in the sun. This column is all about how I’m learning to take vacation and make it count.