Your Firm, R.I.P.

Patti Digh talks about Living an Irresistible Obituary, and just started a site she's dedicated to sharing "living obits" sent in by readers. Patti challenges us to live a life that, when recounted in the inevitable obituary, makes people say "wow!" As an exercise, she suggests writing an obituary for yourself of the life you hope to lead before you die. This can be a powerful exercise for us individually, to be sure, but I'm quite certain it would pay some really significant dividends for law firms as well.

If you had to write your firm's "obituary" today, would it be about a firm you're proud to have served? Would your firm be mourned by its clients and employees? Would your local legal community miss the firm's contributions? Would former clients even notice the firm had gone?

If the answer to any of these questions is "no," what can you do to turn your firm into one that matters? Perhaps writing an "irrestible obituary" would be a good start.