THE KALON WAY
Kalos Kai Agathos
καλὸς κἀγαθός
Intrinsic Motivation
Kalon has thought deeply about why many people work hard to become lawyers but later leave the law. Kalon’s business model is designed to help our people love practicing law, which means better legal services for clients. Kalon focuses on the intrinsic motivators: purpose, mastery, and autonomy.
This model is not new – Daniel Pink articulated it in his book, Drive, in 2009. Miserable, unproductive people work for employers who use only extrinsic motivators. Pink asserts that the happiest, most productive people are intrinsically motivated.
Client Focus
To better serve our clients, Kalon has a four point matrix, based on the approach of a well known services company.
1. Client Centered – Kalon begins by listening to our clients to understand their needs and concerns.
2. Quality Standards – Kalon is proactive, responsive, diligent, deadline conscious, and results focused.
3. Delivery Systems – Kalon delivers through its people and its tech, and we are selective with both.
4. Integration – Kalon brings the first three together into a seamless operation to better serve our clients.
The Core Skills
Kalon teaches our team core skills to ensure each member has the competencies necessary to provide our clients with excellent legal services. The skills are emotional intelligence, getting things done, and communication. These soft skills are rarely taught and seem to be learned along the way by accident by some, but not by others. At Kalon, we make sure everyone has these necessary skills.
Diversity & Inclusion
Kalon is proud to be a signatory to The Connecticut Legal Community’s Diversity and Inclusion Pledge.
Kalon is committed to being a diverse and inclusive firm, to supporting diversity and inclusion in the legal community, and to advocating equal treatment under the law for all (individuals and organizations).
Kalon seeks people from a range of life experiences because we know diverse teams are strong teams and don’t suffer from the echo chambers of homogeneous teams. Kalon encourages our people to be involved in the affinity bar associations, attend bar events, and volunteer in our community. Kalon supports the rule of law and equal treatment for all under the law, and proactively pursue this not only in our paid work, but in our pro bono work with our firm’s human rights clinic.
Pro Bono Publico
Kalon’s pro bono practice is woven into our fabric: we have within the firm a human rights clinic.
Kalon works toward securing the rights under the laws of our great nation for some of the neediest among us and work against intolerance and discrimination. We accept referrals from the Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants.
Innovation
Attorney Christopher P. Kriesen studied Disruptive Strategy at Harvard Business School | HBX and holds a Certificate in Corporate Innovation from the Stanford Graduate School of Business LEAD program.
Proof of our innovation is in the many unique ways Kalon practices law. Kalon is digital, dispersed, and connected.
Giving Back and Paying it Forward
Kalon is devoted to social entrepreneurship – a for-profit business model to serve altruism. Here is what Kalon does: 1) 5% of the revenue from the Kalon ADR Center is donated to the Hartford Youth Scholars; 2) We have a dedicated pro bono practice with the Kalon Human Rights Center (focusing on asylum claims); 3) We have a Fellows program for students, whom we actively mentor to become better advocates; 4) We are devoted to diversity and inclusion; 5) We help improve the bar through our workshops, salons, and Cicero Project; 6) We help secure the rights of our clients through advocacy at the trial and appellate levels; 7) We help resolve disputes through The Kalon ADR Center.
The Kalon Reading List
Want to understand how we think? Here is our firm reading list:
1. How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie
2. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey
3. The Elements of Style, Strunk & White
4. Getting Things Done, David Allen
5. Decision Quality, Carl Spetzler
6. Drive, Daniel Pink
7. Crucial Conversations, Kerry Patterson
8. Making Your Case, Antonio Scalia
9. The Cardinal Rules of Advocacy, Douglas Lavine
10. The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle
11. How Successful People Think, John Maxwell
12 Stories for Work, Gabrielle Dolan
13. The Tools of Argument, Joel Trachtman
14. Ethics for the Real Word, Ronald Howard
15. The Lean Startup, Eric Reis
16. The Startup Way, Eric Reis
17. Principles, Ray Dalio
18. Blue Ocean Strategy, W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne
19. Built to Last, Jim Collins
20. Good to Great, Jim Collins
21. The 4-Hour Workweek, Timothy Ferriss
22. The Launch Book, Sanyin Siang
23. Zero to One, Peter Thiel
24. The Small Firm Roadmap, Sam Glover
THE KALON LAW FIRM, LLC