A fresh start

It's time I update my blog on what I have been doing. I recently got hired at a small law firm in my state. It has been a challenging one month as I organize around the law firm.

At first glance, I was a bit timid, for the new job brought challenges, but I quickly got excited at the fact that I would be organizing things my way. I won't lie, I have made a few trial and error mistakes but nothing major or life threatening. And when in doubt, I ask. I am not afraid to ask but I am afraid of asking too many questions.

Litigation excites me. I love analyzing issues and facts and putting legal theories together. Sometimes I wonder if I should go to law school, but I come back to reality rather quickly. The reality that law school offers very little to someone that is knowledgeable and knows how to spot issues and analyze like a lawyer. The cost of law school is much to high for the benefit law school provides.

In my opinion, the benefits just doesn't outweigh the cost of acquiring a law degree. And I would be wasting money I can invest elsewhere like buying a house, a new car, modernizing my kitchen, etc. The only reason to go to law school is to buy a ticket to take the bar.

Nevertheless, I enjoy being a paralegal even if I don't get to strategize and plan arguments. I also enjoy the fact that I am able to offer more than just paralegal help. I am the Spanish guru, the computer wiz kid, the excellent organizer, and the reliable staff member. I work hard and try my best to finish tasks and add value to my employer.

All in all, I am the perfect paralegal for this position. And with God's help, I will prevail and be the superstar.

The question of whether to outsource or produce in-house?

When considering whether to outsource follow these simple steps in making your decision:

1. determine the production costs (or service costs)your company can avoid if it outsources the service or goods production

2. compare the avoidable (relevant) production costs with the costs of buying the product or service costs and select the lower cost option.

Remember, cost reductions achieved through outsourcing are little benefit if they are acquired at the expense of low morale and reduced productivity.

Colorado Caucus Tonight

In case your wondering, tonight is the Caucus night in Colorado.
The caucus is the closest thing to *the people* having any say in politics.

All registered Republicans are invited to the

REPUBLICAN CAUCUS

Tuesday, March 16th
7:00 pm (sign in begins at 6:30 pm)

Precincts WEST of Colorado Blvd:
Central Christian Church
3690 Cherry Creek Blvd South

Precincts EAST of Colorado Blvd:
Windsor Gardens -- main center meeting room
595 S Clinton St.

Democracy in Action

What happens at the Precinct Caucus?

* Straw poll for Governor and Senate Candidates
* Election of Precinct Leaders
* Election of delegates to the Denver County Assembly and
House, Senate & Judicial Assemblies for purpose of selecting candidates

Participate --- Make Your Voice Heard
Contested Races
Candidates for US Senate
Steve Barton
Ken Buck
Gary Kennedy
Vincent Martinez
Jane Norton ***
Cleve Tidwell
Tom Wiens

Candidates for Governor
Dan Maes
Scott McInnis ***

Candidates for Treasurer
J.J. Ament
Ali Hassan ***
Walker Stapleton

Practical tips to Planning your Business

Planning is the most important part to operating a profitable business. The budgeting process consists of putting together a financial plan. The plan addresses short-, middle-, and long-term time frames.

For example, long-term deals with questions such as

1. Do I want to be a solo practioner or larger law firm practioner?
2. How do I expect to benefit from this experience?
3. Do I want to specialize or be a generalist?
4. In what area of law do I want to concentrate my practice on?

May lawyers decide to go at it alone before answering any of these questions. They discover all too often the disadvantage of poor planning the hard way. While your colleagues are learning to be lawyers as associates in a law firm, big or small, you are having to learn how to own your own business, and practice law all on your own.

First, you need to decide the scope of your business, determine which services to provide, and identify the most profitable market niche.

Second, you need to decide where to locate your office, whether to lease or work from home.

Third, you need to develop a master budget. This describes short-term objectives in specific amounts of service target, service goals, and financial plans. This covers one year.

Before you can create your master budget, you will need to prepare the sales forecast.

Sticks and Stones...

Some people are toxic. There is a reason why people criticize others. These people may be deeply unhappy, have a low self-esteem, and perhaps even depressed. The world often seems bleak and like everyone is their enemy.

When people insult you, this is a reflection of how they feel inside. So, when people shoot with a potshot, I just see it for what it's worth. That they are insecure or jealous. I feel sorry for these people, and if I can't help them, I try to distance myself from them.

So if you don't like the "ideas" I share in this blog, and you feel you have a better idea, well, then, get a moving and put it to action. Provide your own suggestions.

Either way, people who insult others have baggage in their life. These people are unhappy, depressed or insecure and it is best to ignore them rather than fuel their misery by fighting back.

Prestige Pricing among lawyers

I believe that most lawyers in the USA use what accountants term, "Prestige Pricing" strategy.

Many attorneys desire a demand-oriented approach because they want a high selling price or premium status in the market. This is fine in itself, if you want to restrict access to legal representation to the quality- or status-conscious consumer.

However, in this economy this pricing strategy will hurt the lawyer/law firm. In today's market, more and more Pro Se litigant's are proliferating the market. And if a lawyer or a law firm wants to remain competitive it is crucial that you set your price just below the competition not to restrict access to those who need it most. In the long-run Prestige Pricing will hurt your law firm rather than create profits.

Target Pricing is a better strategy for those who desire a market-oriented approach, and want to set a desired target price before the service is offered. This strategy is focused on cost reduction through out the life of the service.

To be simplistic, a lawyer or law firm can focus on a Cost-Plus strategy. This strategy is best if you desire a cost-oriented approach, the lawyer can estimate service costs with reasonable accuracy, and the lawyer has little concern for service life cycle, demand, competition, or image. It is a simple calculation.

If I were a lawyer, I would use either target pricing or cost-plus strategies. In this way, most consumers whether rich or poor would be able to afford legal representation.

Are You Listening....?

In a philosophical discussion about people not truly listening, my friend

JULIE WROTE:

...it often occurs to me that we rarely listen (I mean truly listen) to
what others have to say

And another friend, RESPONDED:

True. There is a flip-side, though, that being that oftentimes, what
other people have to say isn't really very interesting, or it doesn't
give back something to the encounter. I had a friend in college who
had a particular aversion to the elderly (I never was sure why).
Someone was talking one day about venerating the elderly, because they
have a great deal of wisdom. His response? "Yeah, but you have to
wade through a bunch of crap to *get* to that wisdom."

Takes all kinds to make a world....

--
Sir Tomas

******************************

I have to say that old people do have a bunch of wisdom. This year, recently, my husband's ex-mother-in-law passed away. She was dear to us and closely linked to my Cuban ancestors. I guess some people would call her stories "a bunch of crap" one has to wade through to get to the wisdom, but it is in the stories that the wisdom lies and if you truly listen you will come away with enlightenment.

Old people tend to repeat the same stories over and over again, and this old lady friend, used to tell the same stories over and over again, but I didn't think they were a bunch of crap. For one, being that she was from my mom's same town in Cuba, she knew everyone in on my mom's side of the family tree. She even gave me an old picture of my great aunt (one of my grandfather's sister). This lady and my great aunt were in the same high school class of 19--. I heard the same stories over and over again, but each time they had a different twist. So you got some new insight. Each time, I took away some little wisdom from her life that pieced together pieces of my past.

My favorite quote of her is
"Cada persona es un mundo" --Emma de la Cruz de Serrano

In sum, if people only would listen, truly listen, they would discover pebbles of insight. But it is true, many people rarely truly listen and I don't discount myself from the many. I am at fault, too.