White-out reminds me of that esurance commercial— Beatrice: Instead of mailing everyone my vacation photos, I'm saving a ton of time by posting them to my wall. Friend replies... That's not how this works. That’s not how any of this works!
Good Morning Folks,
A blogger advises newly hired law firm associates...
On your first day at a law firm, you will…Yes, even in a computer age where word processing programs with spell check have made error correction automatic, White-Out, as it is known, is still used widely.
…train with an 18-year-old Harvard freshman who somehow manages to be more put together looking than you are.
…embarass yourself trying to use the unnecessarily complicated “coffee system.“
… go to a two-hour, three-course lunch, at the end of which the associate you ate with will say, with genuine pleased surprise, “hey! only $90 for lunch! not bad!”
…spend two solid hours being trained on the use of Outlook. (Who knew email was so complicated?)
…learn that all summer associates are going to be attending next week’s Beyonce concert in a luxury box, courtesy of the firm. and...
…walk into your newly-issued office and discover that it is stocked chock full of office supplies, including a glue stick, an “envelope moistening wand”, White Out (now available in legal pad yellow! who knew!), and brand-new, still in their packaging tape dispenser, stapler, and scissors. (The teacher in me nearly swooned.)
When you deliver documents to our office, it helps if you can do the following:
We rarely need originals. Please deliver clear copies unless we specifically request the original.
We want to protect you from identity fraud. Many bank and credit card statements, tax returns, and other documents have your social security number or account number on every page. Please redact (use White Out) all but the last 4 numbers of any account numbers."Then again, this is one area of the law where enthusiastic use of White-Out and CIA-grade black highlighters is encouraged.
According to Wikipedia: "White-Out "correction fluid" as it is known generically, is an opaque, white fluid applied to paper to mask errors in text. Once dried, it can be written over. It is typically packaged in small bottles, and the lid has an attached brush (or a triangular piece of foam) which dips into the bottle. The brush is used to apply the fluid onto the paper.
Before the invention of word processors, correction fluid greatly facilitated the production of typewritten documents.
One of the first forms of correction fluid was invented in 1951 by the secretary Bette Nesmith Graham, founder of Liquid Paper.
In 1971, they incorporated as Wite-Out Products, Inc. The trademark "Wite-Out" was registered by the United States Patent and Trademark Office on February 5, 1974. (The application listed the date of "first use in commerce" as January 27, 1966.)
Early forms of Wite-Out sold through 1981 were water-based and hence water-soluble. While this allowed simple cleaning, it also had the problem of long drying times. The formula also did not work well on non-photostatic media such as typewritten copy.
The company was bought in 1981 by Archibald Douglas. Douglas, as chairman, led the company toward solvent-based formulas with faster drying times. Three different formulas were created, each optimized for different media. New problems arose: a separate bottle of thinner was required, and the solvent used was known to contribute to ozone depletion. The company addressed these problems in July 1990 with the introduction of a reformulated "For Everything" correction fluid.
In June 1992, Wite-Out Products was bought by the BIC Corporation. BIC released a number of new products under its newly acquired brand, including a Wite-Out ballpoint pen (November 1996) and dry correction tape (1998)."
Today, corporate clients have shifted priorities for law firms. Tired of high hourly rates and a no-bid mentality, corporations are demanding changes in the way law firms bill their clients. And the law firms are responding. There's no room for errors let alone non-billable time spent correcting errors.
Law firms also are facing the same forces that have driven other industries to become leaner and meaner, namely globalization and technology. Law firms today must compete across borders for business while technologies, such as Internet search engines and online law libraries, call into question the need for legal associates and researchers poring over hard-cover law books and documents.
Once upon a time White-Out was a major innovation and a staple of the legal profession. But today it's going to take more than White-Out to "Wipe Out" competition.
Back office business practices have to change. And though law firms have been slow to change, I think we’re going to see even more innovations in the future. Like outsourcing.
As a result, many law firms are adopting new business models and doing what once seemed almost unthinkable in the industry: cutting hourly rates, bidding for corporate work against rival firms, capping prices, and keeping a sharp focus on the corporate client’s bottom line. In turn, the firms are cutting their own costs in a drive to become more efficient, using fewer attorneys on cases, and moving back-office operations to lower cost,more efficient processes like outsourcing.
I launched FSO with a vision, a dream of changing the outsourcing business in a way that was never done before. At FSO we are driving change and ushering law firms into the 21st Century and beyond. In a sense we are "Whiting Out" the past and delivering the future.
If you’d like to explore how FSO can bring your firm into the digital age, contact me personally at 212-204-1193.
With gratitude to Wikipedia and the Boston Globe for their insights that contributed to this post, and most of all to you for listening.
Have a fabulous, sunny, productive day filled with love and inspiration.
Hugs all around.
Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer
ABOUT FSO:
Chief Happiness Officer
ABOUT FSO:
- The fastest growing and most successful national onsite outsourcing in the U.S. focused on 1) improving services, 2) reducing costs, and 3) giving employees an opportunity to grow.
- We outsource functions like: Mail, Copy, Reception, Switchboard, Office Services, Records, Messenger, IT, Concierge, Front & Back Office and much more.
- 1600+ employees, operating in 60+ cities, 225+ operational sites, 98% employee retention & 100% client retention.
- Ranked #24 in Crain’s magazine’s fast 50 and listed to the Inc 5000 list two years in a row.
- We (re)imagine the ways businesses are run.
VIDEO:
Brief "corporate portrait" video shows who we are and what we can do for you HERE
