Dave Bilinsky, the Practice Management Advisor the Law Society of BC, has been so incredibly helpful, generous and supportive in helping grow Heritage Law.
I started Heritage Law in June of 2005 and attended the Pacific Legal Technology Conference that he chairs that fall. I was immediately excited about the benefits to a new solo firm and have been experimenting with and implementing technology solutions ever since. I also attended a Solo and Small Firm Conference chaired by Dave which was full of practical advice and tools to practice law more efficiently and effectively.
I have also read and appreciated Dave’s writing, including Flying Solo: A Survival Guide for the Solo Lawyer, Law Office Procedures Manual for Solos and Small Firms, the Law Practice Magazine, Amicus Attorney in One Hour for Lawyers, his articles in Bar Talk and his blog http://www.thoughtfullaw.com.
He is also very generous with his time personally, despite clearly juggling many balls in the air. In short, he is just a great asset – not just for me but for many other lawyers out there and the profession at large.
Interesting comment with respect to privacy concerns about companies collecting personal information about their customers: Apparently your credit card company can predict with 95% certainty that you will get a divorce, two years before it happens, based on your purchases. Anyone know the source of this commentary?
Alison Parry CFA, CA very graciously invited me to be a guest at the Phillips, Hager & North table at the Influential Women in Business Awards luncheon today. It was a very well done event and personally both a humbling and inspiring experience at the same time.
The honorees were:
Julia Kim, Vice-President, Phillips Hager North Investment Management
Tracey McVicar, Managing Director, CAI Capital Management
Colleen Nystedt, President & CEO, MovieSet Inc
Jane Peverett, Corporate Director
Tamara Vrooman, CEO, Vancity
and Carole Taylor won a lifetime achievement award.
What I found really interesting was, while united by notable achievement, how truly unique each woman was in her perspective and style.
On the Business in Vancouver web page, it says that the award criteria are that besides professional or entrepreneurial achievements, Influential Women in Business are involved in their business community and have power and influence wthin their industry. You will find these women involved on corporate boards, advocating for women in business, and visibly participating in the business community as a whole.
The Bank of Canada cut its overnight lending rate by half a percentage point to 0.5 per cent (the lowest ever), prompting most big banks to quickly match it by dropping their prime rates to 2.5 per cent.
So there’s a silver lining in all the economic carnage – at least my business line of credit is increasingly cheap to carry.
Translation as I understand it: a lot of supposedly smart people made surprisingly reckless decisions for short term profit and now we are all paying for it.
“Once the global financial system stabilizes and global growth recovers, the underlying strength of the Canadian economy and financial sector should ensure a more rapid recovery in Canada than in most other industrialized nations,” the Bank of Canada said.
The article in todays New York Times Business section reminds me of recent coverage of Gwenyth Paltrow’s GOOP newsletter – mean spirited and indicative of our continuing cultural ambivalence about successful, attractive, high profile women.
I personally think the article says a lot more about it’s author, Laura Holson, than she probably realizes.
Why is it surprising that a successful, wealthy, high profile tech executive is somewhat self-involved? I’m pretty sure the last time I read a profile of Steve Jobs or Larry Ellison, it didn’t have the same scathing, personally critical tone. Ms. Holson, do you never employ subjectivity in your job? Do you not utilize self promotion to further your career?
I checked out your bio on the New York Times web site – no self promotion there at all:
“Laura M. Holson is an award-winning reporter who currently writes about communications, media and the mobile lifestyle from New York. She joined the Times in 1998, first chronicling the mergers and acquisition boom and then, in 2000, moving to Los Angeles to write about Hollywood, Michael Eisner and The Walt Disney Co. and the major movie studios. Before that she was a writer with Smart Money magazine and, in the 1980s, worked at an investment bank where she earned her stockbroker’s license and helped manage client accounts.”
An undercurrent of jealousy or lack of abundance type thinking runs through these kinds of profiles. The same thing can be said about recent commentary of Ms. Paltrow’s new venture, chronicled (coincidentally?) in last Sunday’s New York Times.
It saddens me that the worst enemy of womens’ ascent to the higher ranks of business or popular culture often appears to be other women. I’m not saying that we need to be holding hands, skipping through the fields together, but maybe we could think about why we so often feel the need to tear each other down.
I went to Launch Party last night for the first time, and it was quite well done. Being on the periphery of the local tech community, I didn’t know a ton of people. I did enjoy meeting up with and talking to some interesting people in the community who I know of but have never had the chance to meet in person. Someone said they recognized me from Twitter which was funny. Overall a fun night. Good job Danny & Maura …
I read the Outliers today and can’t stop thinking about it. It has altered my thoughts about success and how to provide the best opportunities for our children.
While full of thought-provoking stories and sociological commentary, it is an easy read – I did it while juggling feeding the kids, on the stair master etc.
I also liked how the book ended where Gladwell tied his personal story to the content of the book.
This book has changed how I look at the world. Not a small thing for a Saturday read.
1 Comment »
