Book review

The Economy: Why They Failed

by Fred Abramson on November 19, 2010 · 0 comments

John Cassidy, in the New York Review of Books writes that on Wall Street, the Great Recession didn’t last very long. Having sustained losses of $42.6 billion in 2008, the securities industry generated $55 billion in profits in 2009, smashing the previous record, and it paid out $20.3 billion in bonuses. In the spring of 2010, the Wall Street gusher continued to spew money. Between January and March, Citigroup’s investment banking division made more than $2.5 billion in profits. Goldman Sachs’s traders enjoyed their best quarter ever, generating an astonishing $7.4 billion in net revenues. Barely a year and a half after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Wall Street was once again doing well for itself—obscenely well, it seemed to many people.

Read more of this fascinating article and let me know what you think of his analysis.

The Economy: Why They Failed

“Art,” Linchpin, Seth Godin and the Law

by Fred Abramson on April 14, 2010 · 2 comments

pollock lavendermist Art, Linchpin, Seth Godin and the Law

This post has nothing to do with the law. It’s about art. I am not talking about art in the traditional sense, like Jackson Pollack or Pablo Picasso. I am talking about the art that you bring to your work and to your life.

In our economy, you are no longer guaranteed lifetime employment. The publishing industry is in upheaval. GM is running on fumes. The insurance company that you work for could be bought out tomorrow.  Just because you have depth of knowledge doesn’t mean that your job is secure. It doesn’t matter if you own your own company or you are an employee. The only way to get your worth is to stand out. You need to be seen as indispensable and to produce interactions that people care about. Seth Godin says that you need to be what he calls a “Linchpin.” (Read his thought provoking book). Now, success means being an artist.

To quote Seth Godin:

“Be remarkable. Be generous. Create art. Make judgment calls. Connect people and ideas … and we have no choice but to reward you.”

Every morning after dropping off my kids at daycare, I work to be a remarkable attorney. I am generous with my time. My art is providing legal services that are tailored to you. I write articles nearly every day working to educate you. You are paying me for my knowledge of the law and my intellectual ability to make judgment calls for you.  My goal is to connect you with the rest of my tribe.  Hiring a lawyer should be a unique experience for you and I work to make your life better.

I understand that you have a variety of options when choosing an attorney.  You may decide that you may want to hire a lawyer that costs less money. You may think that I don’t handle an area of law, like real estate and don’t bother calling me (yes I do handle real estate closings).  That’s all ok. I’m here to let you know that you know that I am here for you and for all of your legal needs.  No, I don’t handle every area of the law, but I probably know a lawyer who can help.

Let me know what you think about Seth Godin’s words and continue to do good work.

The Law Office of Frederic R. Abramson practices the art of law in New York State.  You may contact me at 212-233-0666

Art, Linchpin, Seth Godin and the Law

Killer Lessons for Lawyers and Entrepreneurs from Rework

by Fred Abramson on April 6, 2010 · 4 comments

4479593931 fff24b2a5d Killer Lessons for Lawyers and Entrepreneurs from ReworkMy commute from the lovely North Shore of Long Island to the New York Supreme Courthouse near Chinatown in Manhattan is an hour journey.  I devoured the new business book entitled Rework by @jasonfried and David Hansson in one round trip.

Unlike most business books, Rework is the product of real life successful entrepreneurs.   These guys are not “gurus.” They provide advice that is easy to read and visually appealing.  The visual aspect reminds me of Tom Peters who wrote one of the best business books ever In Search of Excellence.

As a business law attorney, I read this book with an eye towards small businesses and its applicability to the practice of law for small firms.  Feel free to join in and post your thoughts.

  • Make a dent in the universe. You should feel a sense of urgency about this because you won’t be here forever.  As an attorney, your work is your  life’s work.  If you think that it sucks making a living as an insurance company whore (insurance defense attorney) then  quit.  Go work for legal aid if that makes you happy.
  • Ideas are cheap and plentiful. The real question is how you execute. When the economy started tanking you just knew that bankruptcy’s would soar.  But what did you do to go out and get you some of that business? Probably nothing.
  • You can’t recognize the details that matter most until after you start building. That’s when you see what needs the most attention.  If you want to start video blogging about ten things you should know before entering into a contract you should just look into your cam and do it.  You can then graduate to a flip camera. If you are telegenic, you may one day even become a YouTube star.
  • Commit to making decisions. Don’t wait for a perfect solution. Decide and move forward. Decisions are progress. Lawyers often agonize over hiring the best web designer for their new blog.  Instead of making a decision, they wait and wait and wait…..and guess what? No decision.  Decide and move on.
  • Quick wins. The way that you build momentum is by getting something done and then moving to the next thing. Don’t spend too much  time lingering on Facebook, checking out your friends artwork. (But you should check out the link which leads you to the work of my friend Michael Sprouse).  After entering your billing, start preparing for tomorrows deposition.
  • If you think a competitor sucks, say so. If you are a solo, tell the world that you hate big law firms. It is a great way to differentiate yourself. Hell, I do.  I especially hate them when I go to court.  They have no clue how to draft a simple order. They love to make useless motions so that they can bill the fuck out of their clients. Sitting through a deposition with a newly minted big law associate is torture.  ”When you started your first company at the age of 12, was your mother working as a waitress or a podiatrist?”
  • Don’t spend much time focusing on competitors. Focus on yourself instead. Here in New York City, this would cause serious anxiety due to the plethora of lawyers.
  • Say no by default. If your clients want you to say yes to a deadline that is too optimistic, you probably won’t meet it.   You will lose the client anyway. It is best to explain why their expectations are impossible to meet. If they won’t except it, let the next sucker attorney deal with it.
  • Build an audience. Speak, blog, tweet-whatever.  Share info that’s valuable and you’ll slowly build and audience. Unless you are personal injury or criminal attorney with a Warren Buffet sized war chest, lawyers shouldn’t waste their time on ads.
  • Instead of trying to outspend, outsell, or out sponsor competitors, try to out-teach them. Use your blog to teach the world about what you do.
  • Emulate chefs. Share everything that you know. For lawyers, posting all of your documents is your cookbook. Cooks can’t copy Batali.  Why not crush Legal Zoom and post everything for free?
  • Go behind the scenes. Hell, people watch ice road truckers. Lawyers can take a flip camera and with court permission, film.

If you want to do something, do it now. Inspiration is perishable.  What do you think?

Killer Lessons for Lawyers and Entrepreneurs from Rework

Why You Need to Practice Giving Value

by Fred Abramson on October 28, 2009 · 0 comments

I have recently started reading The Magic of Thinking Big, by David J. Schwartz. The book, written in 1959, has beenmagic of thinking big Why You Need to Practice Giving Value getting a lot of ink lately because his ideas are classic. Business thought leaders such as Seth Godin and Tim Ferriss cite the book as required reading.

Mr. Schwartz suggests that we should practice giving value.

  • Practice adding value to things. Look for ideas to make things worth more
  • Practice adding value to people. As you move higher and higher in the success world, more and more of your job becomes people development. Look for ways that you can help others. Take a look at your contacts and find ways to connect them.
  • Practice giving value to yourself. You need to ask yourself everyday what can you do to make yourself more valuable today. With social media, you can make yourself more valuable by writing a blog.

Let me know of your action steps towards providing more value.

Why You Need to Practice Giving Value

Review of Chris Brogan’s Trust Summit: Be a Priest and Build a Church

by Fred Abramson on October 23, 2009 · 4 comments

trust agent cover(1) Review of Chris Brogans Trust Summit: Be a Priest and Build a Churchtrusted advisor Review of Chris Brogans Trust Summit: Be a Priest and Build a ChurchSocial Media is an ongoing experiment.  Both people and companies are using this new tool to connect with people that they have never met in person.  The main goal of all of this activity is to generate new business.  The million dollar question is how to convert your Twitter followers and Facebook friends into paying customers.

The answer, according to members of the panel convened on October 23, 2009, at the Trust Summit, is to build trust. In front of a packed room of tweeps at the Harvard Club in NYC, social media rockstars Chris Brogan, Julien Smith, David Maister and Charles H. Green, discussed the issue of trust and how it relates to social networking.

According to Chris Brogan, the relationship economy will move the future. The goal of using social media is to create sustainable relationships over time.

In his book Trust Agents, Chris explains that on the web, groups of highly motivated people within every circle have already joined together, helping each other reach a higher ground. I asked Chris, through Twitter,  how professional service businesses (ie law) can harness this group to become clients. I am skeptical that lawyers and other service businesses can use social media to achieve this goal. Chris responded that you need to be a priest and build a church. What he means is that you should use social media to be part of multiple groups that will help your access each group.  Your goal is to be in the center and be the priest.

The trust paradigm is not new. Charles H. Green lectured that you shouldn’t view business through the lens of competition.  The purpose of companies is to serve society.  He argued that competitors should work together to serve the public.  Cooperation between competitors serves everyone interests.

David Sax, writing in Save the Deli observed this spirit of cooperation in the thriving Los Angeles Jewish Deli scene.  Throughout the country, Jewish Delicatessen is an institution that is in decline.  The pastrami is expensive and people are worried about the impact of schmaltz on their cholesterol.  But in LA, the Jewish Deli is thriving because deli owners cooperate.  If Nate N’ Al’s is out of stuffed derma, they call over to Greenblatt’s  for help.   You should do the same when using social media.

As Julien Smith eloquently put it:  “Social media is still an experiment. Be curious of other people when using social media. Only by risking can we create greater things for everyone.”


Review of Chris Brogans Trust Summit: Be a Priest and Build a Church

What you can learn from Jim Collins approach to life.

May 24, 2009

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As per my Sunday ritual of reading the New York Times, with a mug of coffee in hand, I came across this great profile of Jim Collins in today’s business section.  Jim Collins, along with Seth Godin, are the two business writers that have most influenced my thinking.  Mr. Collins has published a new book, [...]

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