tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.comments2022-11-20T14:54:48.055+00:00A Pitch for Common SensePeter Blairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02333595445329801317noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.post-3224160771993772832014-05-16T08:35:51.565+01:002014-05-16T08:35:51.565+01:00I thought that a follow up might be in order. This...I thought that a follow up might be in order. This post was written in March 2014 and we are now in May. I have written and emailed to the COO and the CEO of Greater Anglia as well as complained through the website and Twitter - and received not a single reply. Not one. <br /><br />Wow - an impressive statement that I, as a customer, am utterly insignificant to them. They may be right - after all I still have to take their trains since it is the easiest way to get to Ipswich and Norwich. But I will continue to talk about their awful service, their old trains, their failure to tell time (apparently no apology is needed if the train is only 5 minutes or so late - I've certainly never heard one, and I can't remember the last time that the train from Ipswich to London in the evening was on time).<br /><br />Oh well - I know my place now.Peter Blairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02333595445329801317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.post-68807765021596094612013-06-08T07:35:54.425+01:002013-06-08T07:35:54.425+01:00I appreciated your kind way of knowledge.Great Stu...I appreciated your kind way of knowledge.Great Stuff Here..I am happy to find such an informative post.hope more to come.Matthew Browndorf Lawsuithttp://matthewbrowndorflawsuit.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.post-10565914760095139962013-02-13T14:18:11.502+00:002013-02-13T14:18:11.502+00:00Absolutely - a totally unsustainable amount of mon...Absolutely - a totally unsustainable amount of money. My point is that if fewer authors on £1m+ might mean that there are a (few) more on £30k?Peter Blairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02333595445329801317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.post-50256519782771362252013-02-13T11:32:27.412+00:002013-02-13T11:32:27.412+00:00"There will be fewer millionaires but more wr..."There will be fewer millionaires but more writers on £30k. Is that a bad thing?"<br /><br />The annual median income for professional authors from writing in the UK age group 25-34 is £5,000.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.post-44490839314646289862012-11-27T12:42:11.609+00:002012-11-27T12:42:11.609+00:00Thanks for your comments.
You are absolutely righ...Thanks for your comments.<br /><br />You are absolutely right to say that barristers in efficient sets are paid no more than those in less well managed chambers. I see members in both types of chambers every week. The point that I try to make is that, as well as appealing for more realistic payments, members of chambers should ensure that their own house is in order and that their contributions are working as efficiently as possible. The ethical expectation for any set or any firm should, of course, be the same, no matter their source of funding.<br /><br />My point with external investors is that there is no particular reason to suggest that such people would exercise influence to act in any unethical manner. In the example you use, I should absolutely expect that any lawyer would refuse to lower their ethical standards. Any investor in a set of chambers who had done the least amount of due diligence would realise that they were dealing with people who would stand by their beliefs. As an investor in banks and accounting firms, I expect the same from those working there.<br /><br />I absolutely agree with your point about investment in legal aid sets - and for that reason, sadly, would be very surprised to see external investment in a set which only did that sort of work (complete control, perhaps, but not investment in an independent set). Peter Blairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02333595445329801317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.post-29269104542419920892012-11-27T12:25:29.930+00:002012-11-27T12:25:29.930+00:00I'm not sure I follow this at all.
There is, ...I'm not sure I follow this at all.<br /><br />There is, of course, nothing unusual still less unethical about a set of chambers trying to run itself as efficiently as it can. However, it does not owe either the Court or the LSC any duty to do so. The LSC does not pay members of inefficient sets any more than it pays members of efficient ones. Similarly, the Court does not lower its ethical expectations of counsel according to how efficiently their sets deal with their costs. In contrast (and entirely acceptably), if the set were to acquire external investors, those investors would be entitled to expect that sets would run themselves efficiently.<br /><br />Gross makes discrete points in the two passages that you cite. In the first he recognises that the interests of external investors and the court may not always be aligned. You are right to say that often they will be. However, he is focused on the circumstances where they are not. If I were a barrister in a set with external investors and faced a straight choice between doing something thoroughly (but, therefore, more expensively)and meeting my duty to the court and doing something less well (but more cheaply) there should not be any question but that I should do the former. He is not suggesting that external investors should have no influence. He is suggesting that the one thing they cannot expect to be allowed to influence is compliance with ethical standards and that one has to be vigilant to ensure that apparently harmless requirements do not in practice have that effect. That is scarcely "having it all".<br /><br />His second point seems to me to have nothing to do with external investors. It maybe that efficiency conscious external investors so streamline the operation of a legal aid set that they manage to generate an investment return and still leave the barrister with as much (or hopefully more) than they would have had in their pocket had the efficiencies not been made. However, legal aid rates are so ridiculously low (and trending ever downward) that without a personal devotion to doing that kind of work, barristers who could earn more doing something else are likely to drift off and do it. An investor might very well say "give up legal aid work; do something more remunerative and everyone will be happy". That would be fine as long as "everyone" is understood not to include the parties who suddenly find they have no access to competent representation and the courts who have to deal with the consequences.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.post-70325060934157568002012-08-11T16:19:43.283+01:002012-08-11T16:19:43.283+01:00The only let down is the typeface!!!The only let down is the typeface!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.post-82645505987906294232011-03-11T13:39:27.087+00:002011-03-11T13:39:27.087+00:00An interesting question (and hope you car arrived ...An interesting question (and hope you car arrived OK!).<br /><br />Our local Skoda / Mazda dealership (where I have got my last two cars) is an interesting case study here.<br /><br />They seem to have a real service culture which is driven from the top down (the owner is apparently quite religious and for that reason they don't trade on a Sunday for starters!).<br /><br />In my experience they make a point of delivering the basics reliably (servicing your car when they say they will etc.), but they also have a lot of added extras.<br /><br />If you show up on a Saturday morning for example they will wash your car for free and after a recent service when they noticed I had two tyres which needed replacing immediately they called me twice afterwards to check I had changed them (even though I had politely declined to pay main dealer prices for the privilege of them changing them).<br /><br />They seem to have an incredibly loyal customer base and they organise a number of events through the year like a regular carol service at Christmas.<br /><br />It is interesting from a law firm perspective because they aren't doing anything radically different in terms of the basic services they provide (they still sell cars in much the same way), but their obsessive approach to customer service really marks them out from the competition.<br /><br />I don't have an answer on the bank front though... seems like a much more difficult problem!Jon Bloorhttp://www.peninsulawyer.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.post-19891843132978671982010-12-22T09:57:33.095+00:002010-12-22T09:57:33.095+00:00Good luck with the book Peter and enjoy the break....Good luck with the book Peter and enjoy the break.Jon Busbyhttp://legal-two.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.post-1067850846880840432010-07-14T11:29:53.120+01:002010-07-14T11:29:53.120+01:00Thanks Jon - interesting thoughts. I agree that mo...Thanks Jon - interesting thoughts. I agree that most industries and, yes, governments, had the same short-term "spend it now" mentality.<br /><br />I was particularly horrified to hear a local MP trying to saving his school building programme by saying "we could just extend the PPP payment terms by 20 years or so and then we can afford it". As you say - exactly the thinking that got us into a mess.<br /><br />What is odd about the law is that firms using PEP to essentially boast about how much they are taking from the business. Most other firms and industries at least try to keep it quiet!Peter Blairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02333595445329801317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.post-17676907156536717622010-07-14T11:23:20.571+01:002010-07-14T11:23:20.571+01:00Interesting post Peter.
But this 'stripping&#...Interesting post Peter.<br /><br />But this 'stripping' concept is just as relevant across all industries and government.<br /><br />Basically we all got greedy for the simple reason that we could. There is a fundamental society/cultural problem around our obsession with short termism. And now the 'pot of gold' has been emptied we are running around saying"it's not my fault the pot of gold is empty, it's there fault." It is all of our faults.<br /><br />I always find it odd when sme's and business say "oh we want more borrowing from banks." Isn't that how we got into this mess? we need to be less lazy and more smart. <br /><br />Ultimately though the situation provides an opportunity for the strategic, the innovative, the valley gazers. Those who take a reactive short term view will only put off the pain for now and then wake up too late, unprepared when recovery happens.<br /><br />Don't under estimate the chaos of bad (also read no) internal decision making over the coming months and years.Jon Busbyhttp://legal-two.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.post-26304465793860991872010-06-30T13:02:48.165+01:002010-06-30T13:02:48.165+01:00I have always been amazed by the bank overdrafts t...I have always been amazed by the bank overdrafts that support our law firms which would never support any other commercial business. If partners had more skin in the game they might be more collegiate and less mobile too. OK it might be harder to join the partnership but then partnerships come too early now.Filemothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15735898485265104580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.post-64662493023728230972010-06-03T13:25:02.025+01:002010-06-03T13:25:02.025+01:00Peter
A great post but I wonder how many senior ...Peter <br /><br />A great post but I wonder how many senior equity partners are going to echo your comments! Also, I wonder how many clients would be fascinated to learn these figures? Like you I am not sure why these numbers get pushed out; is it some sort of oneupmanship between law firms or a way perhaps of keeping the troops motivated? Surely the focus must be on profit but more than that what about reinvestment or even going the John Lewis Partnership route and to start distributing more of the profit amongst the employees (which I know does happen in some firms now).<br /><br />Best wishes<br />JulianJulianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14278137888370112138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.post-82383287195832234132010-05-23T18:04:49.125+01:002010-05-23T18:04:49.125+01:00Peter
You may want to read the book Re-imagine! b...Peter<br /><br />You may want to read the book Re-imagine! by Tom Peters the uber management guru; it will give you a whole new slant on professional service firms. I shall wait to see what you think.<br /><br />JulianJulianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14278137888370112138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.post-68604058131626347542010-05-20T11:09:27.269+01:002010-05-20T11:09:27.269+01:00I've noticed that "Solicitr" have wr...I've noticed that "Solicitr" have written about this story too - and that they agree with my PEP maths! (http://www.solicitr.com/2010/05/20/200910-results-begin-dentons-show-more-pep-for-less-revenue/)Peter Blairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02333595445329801317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.post-13032564599020610222010-05-11T00:20:23.376+01:002010-05-11T00:20:23.376+01:00Thanks Jon - yes you'd think that recent event...Thanks Jon - yes you'd think that recent events (and we could go back to the threat of pandemic too) would have spurred firms into action. Sadly I see a great number of firms who continue avoiding the subject.Peter Blairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02333595445329801317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.post-58550925132256011482010-05-10T17:17:32.891+01:002010-05-10T17:17:32.891+01:00Interesting post Peter... do you think that the e...Interesting post Peter... do you think that the events of this year so far (the "snowpocalypse" and the Icelandic ash clouds) should really have focused people's minds on this a bit more?<br /><br />These are pretty minor events from a business continuity perspective (and critically the impact is on everyone and not just one particular firm), but I do wonder whether they have made managers think more about what they might do in the event of a serious incident... or is this not enough to overcome the ostrich mentality?Jon Bloorhttp://www.peninsulawyer.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.post-16710406920365884162010-04-29T03:53:41.239+01:002010-04-29T03:53:41.239+01:00Hi!
In my own experience, the Customer care tech s...Hi!<br />In my own experience, the <a href="http://www.5ca.com/" title="Customer care tech support" rel="nofollow">Customer care tech support</a>, they really seemed to cared! I liked how they did their job!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13808391123181506384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.post-1836984076792031932010-03-09T17:10:20.452+00:002010-03-09T17:10:20.452+00:00Thanks "gwueiroc", but happily a number ...Thanks "gwueiroc", but happily a number of people do read this blog - for which I'm very grateful. <br /><br />In any case, I think that the spirit of optimism would win out and I'd carry on with it.Peter Blairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02333595445329801317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.post-13010789752218781082010-03-07T23:32:35.134+00:002010-03-07T23:32:35.134+00:00If you are self employed, optimism is not just all...If you are self employed, optimism is not just all right, it is essential! If you do not believe in your own product or service, how can you expect others to do so, and buy?<br /><br />I think though that it does to a certain extent depend on the sort of person you are, and has to be generated from within yourself. <br /><br />For example, I am still very optimistic and excited about the future, and the opportunities offered by the internet for the delivery of legal services online. These are interesting and exciting times.Tessa Sheppersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09661168506904640975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.post-27490249451555381572010-03-02T22:02:58.941+00:002010-03-02T22:02:58.941+00:00if nobody reads this thing, why bother posting it ...if nobody reads this thing, why bother posting it anyway?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13735357844038727840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.post-59901898460038709302010-02-27T06:45:39.613+00:002010-02-27T06:45:39.613+00:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.post-91210824075622467322010-02-26T22:14:13.127+00:002010-02-26T22:14:13.127+00:00I completely agree with anonymous I, except that I...I completely agree with anonymous I, except that I think free access to social networking websites should be allowed at work, how else would you spend your time? btw can someone out there please help me get a job?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.post-38092490675150288272010-02-26T15:31:59.085+00:002010-02-26T15:31:59.085+00:00Hi anonymous II,
I wish I could. Sadly all I can ...Hi anonymous II,<br /><br />I wish I could. Sadly all I can do is to sympathise with you in a difficult time and to suggest that you keep plugging away.<br /><br />Of course being anonymous won't help!<br /><br />Good luck in the hunt.<br /><br />PeterPeter Blairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02333595445329801317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8392872910119691817.post-66185934423336898312010-02-26T15:29:26.318+00:002010-02-26T15:29:26.318+00:00Hi Peter,
Can you help me get a job, please?
Thank...Hi Peter,<br />Can you help me get a job, please?<br />Thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com