Legal Research

A financial plan for Christmas

By Shaunna Mireau

Merry Christmas, seasons greetings, happy holidays. These can be empty words for those struggling to cope with challenging financial times. Even in economiclly stable Alberta, recession planning has become the topic of the day. My gift on this day of celebration are some tips for financial stability from those who know far more than me.

From Slaw:

• Omar’s well put together recent post on Mitch Kowalski
• Gavins recent post on outsourcing

From the ABA Law Practice Managment Section:

• November 2008 article where Dennis Kennedy moderated a panel discussing practical tips for practicing law during times of economic turmoil.
• Will your firm survive despite a sluggish economy? by Stephen Best

Remember the early 1990s. In print, or from Hein Online:

• Cite: 89 A.B.A. J. 37 (July 2003) by Martha Neill ,”Caught in the Middle”. Good article on strategies for survival for mid-sized firms
• Cite: 16 B. Leader 10 (1991-1992) “Recession”. A series of articles on lawyers, law firms and bars trying to cope during the economic downturn
• Cite: 17 Int’l Legal Prac. 30 (1992) by Linda Spedding, “Getting Our Act Together: New Services, New Clients, New Management Skills”. A short article on an international symposium which addressed practice issues for recessionary times.

When I was a child my mother, who was born in 1930 and remembers her mother trading food stamps with the neighbours, taught me to darn socks “just in case”. If you don’t know how to darn socks, plug “how to darn socks” into the Google Search box and you can see a video. It is pretty close to my mother’s instructions. 2009 may well be the year that we all have to darn our socks rather than buying a six-pack for $8.99 at Wal-Mart. The very great news is that we can all learn how to darn our socks. We can, and will, also learn how to cope with the changes and opportunities that economic turmoil stirs up.

This Christmas, I wish you great plans and great success, and hope that you don’t HAVE to darn your socks.

Full post as published by Slaw.ca on December 25, 2008 (boomark / email).