BUSINESS
CAREERS
Global
Continued From Page 20
PayPal have successfully created
online dispute resolution systems
that effectively decide issues for
the parties involved. On the
international stage, of course,
creating such a system becomes
immensely more complex.
“We built a civil justice sys-
tem. We built a walled garden.
Now the challenge is more and
more transactions are happen-
ing outside the walled garden.
That’s what UNCITRAL is try-
ing to do,” said Rule, who is cur-
rently writing a book for the
American Bar Association on
what a justice system for the
Internet would look like.
■ ODR’s untapped advantage
It’s widely documented that online
dispute resolution, or ODR, is faster
and less expensive than litigation.
However, Noam Ebner, an assistant
professor at Creighton University’s
School of Law in Nebraska, and
Colleen Getz, a public policy and
evaluation consultant based in
Victoria, believe there’s another
important advantage to ODR that
has been noticeably overlooked: It’s
inherently green.
In a paper that will be published
this March in Conflict Resolution
Quarterly, the authors point out that:
n;In ODR, parties connect at a dis-
tance eliminating what is often the
most significant environmental cost
of all: carbon emissions resulting
from travel.
n;In ODR, paper use is reduced to
a minimum and often eliminated
altogether.
n;ODR services often eliminate or
decrease the need for office space,
reducing the need for construction of
office buildings (or large structures
such as courthouses). Fewer build-
ings, in turn, can be equated with
reduced impact on wildlife habitats,
or it can be factored into an equation
of energy savings: every court com-
plex not built saves millions of kilo-
watt hours of electricity a year.
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Easier to find rising stars
Training
Continued From Page 21
training program, I advise first to
audit the needs of your associates.
This should be done anonymously
so they are more likely to be frank
about their real needs.
Secondly, it’s advisable to have
your marketing team involved in
the creation of your training programs to ensure they are aligned
with the strategic focus of your
firm. There is no question that
training will produce some individual results. However, to get
maximum results, training
should be aligned with firm as
well as lawyer needs and goals.
Once you have decided on your
curriculum, you are ready to roll
out your training programs.
Ensure there is some level of
accountability and measurement
so you can make changes to
improve your programs moving
forward. I always advise this to
start early on in your associate’s
career. At that stage while there
may not be much pressure yet to
develop business, and the earlier
you can plant the seeds, the better.
Your programs should be broken
down and targeted for junior asso-
ciates, intermediate and senior
associates and junior partners.
Legal Aid Saskatchewan promotes access to justice for eligible persons
through the provision of quality legal assistance through our fifteen offices
in the province. Legal Aid Saskatchewan is seeking a Legal Director for its
Meadow Lake Area Office.
Under the supervision and direction of the Chief Executive Officer, the
Legal Director is responsible for the overall supervision and management
of the office in addition to providing counsel to eligible clients. This
position involves some travel in small aircraft to northern communities.
As the ideal candidate, you bring a commitment to exceptional client
service; have superior communication and leadership skills; have
managerial/supervisory experience and a passion for the law. You possess
an LL.B. degree and have five plus years of experience in criminal and/or
family law at the Provincial and Queen’s Bench Courts. You must be
eligible for membership in the Law Society of Saskatchewan.
The salary range for the position is $113,307 to $139,120 per annum.
There is a comprehensive benefits package inclusive of a pension plan.
The incumbents are entitled to 3 weeks annual vacation, 15 EDO’s and 13
Statutory Holidays.
We encourage applications from people of Aboriginal ancestry, persons of a visible
minority group, persons with disabilities and women seeking management and nontraditional roles. Legal Aid Saskatchewan has an employment equity program approved by
the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission.
To explore this opportunity, please send your resumé prior to April 30, 2012 to
Human Resources, Legal Aid Saskatchewan, Central Office, #502 - 201 21st Street
East, SASKATOON SK S7K 0B8 FAX: (306) 933-6764,
E-Mail: humanresources@legalaid.sk.ca Web: www.legalaid.sk.ca
LEGAL DIRECTOR
coaching, they can learn very
quickly how and where to take
their practice to the next level.
As they are likely to already be
highly regarded among their
peers, the success they create will
go a long way in helping you
expand your coaching program
on a broader scale. As you know,
lawyers love evidence.
Another effective application
for coaching is in helping some of
your associates who may be struggling for various reasons, and
whom the firm would prefer to
retain. I must be clear here however. I am not advocating coaching
for lawyers that are in trouble and
the firm doesn’t see as future partnership material. They could be in
the wrong practice area. They
could be overwhelmed. They could
be feeling so much pressure to
bring in new business and not
know where and how to start. And
without effective support, sometimes, they will just leave.
Coaching can be an effective
way of helping these associates
turn their careers around and
make a solid home at your firm.
When you weigh the cost of losing
them against the investment in
retaining them, the numbers
always support this application.
Generally speaking, training is
most effective in broad applications, while coaching is best suited
to support lawyers in unique situations. If you are still in question
about which approach to take, seek
out lawyers who have had both
experiences. Find out what they
have to say. Find out what worked
best for them. n
Gary Mitchell is a business
development coach working exclusively with lawyers. His first book,
‘The Business Development Guide
Book for Lawyers’ will be published
in July. You can reach Gary at
gary@ontraccoach.com or by
phone at 778.785.0001.
