Interest rates on student loans increase
Rates on students' loans increase, effective Saturday, July 1st.
According to USA Today, some students will take their entire professional careers to repay the loans. The rates will increase from 4.75% to as high as 7.14%. Some will refinance their loans; others will pay them off (if they can); and the others will be saddled with almost twice the interest cost!
Without the loans, the students would not complete their education. And we wouldn't have their talent.
Yet, listening to some of them talk, it seems as though they feel entitled to a reduction or elimination of the obligation, an obligation they voluntarily took on for themselves.
Not all of these students get employed with top firms with large salaries. What will happen to the others? How and when will they deal with this debt, a debt that might be as large as $500,000 for some who go on to graduate school?
We have not had experience with this before. How our country will deal with this issue may impact the way legal services are delivered ... and who delivers them.
Communication is essential for success
Some wisdom from Tony Alessandra, author of The Platinum Rule:
"The ability to communicate well can make a critical difference in life, and especially in your career. A study conducted by AT&T and Stanford University revealed that the top predictor of professional success and upward mobility is enjoyment of and ability for public speaking. Yet surveys also show that our number one fear -- even more than death -- is speaking in public."
Other words of advice from FDR: Be brief. Be short. Be seated.
Words of wisdom that are difficult for lawyers to implement. We need to learn more of this.
Alternative fee pricing
Ed Poll interviews attorney Rick Simses on the subject of alternative fee billing. They discuss sharing the risk of a matter with the client... what it means and how it should impact the client's fee.
FREE Webinar -- July 18 -- Business Competencies
In the webinar, I’ll cover the importance of business planning and the components of a business plan, including a marketing plan and a financial plan. I’ll talk about how to evaluate your firm’s business performance and the crucial element of cash flow management. I’ll discuss billing rates and cycles, and will explain some of the pricing options available to lawyers (including hourly, fixed fee and value billing). Since billing is only part of the equation, I’ll also address collections. Finally, I’ll take attendees through some case studies in understanding business competency, analyzing the real costs of e-mail and capital investment. Although business competency is important for lawyers in firms of all sizes, this webinar is focused on the needs of the small firm and solo practitioner.
Poll quoted again
Mike McKee of The Recorder wrote an interesting piece on the issue of insurance disclosure.
While I continue to oppose the adoption by California of this new provision, it is becoming clearer to me that there are competing interests at work. First, is the perception that the Bar is a licensing agency and protector of the public. That's it. Second, there are the few, perhaps naive, lawyers who believe that the State Bar also owes a duty to its members.
Bars across the country in recent decades have leaned toward the first, to the almost total exclusion of the second. I had hopes that California had finally turned the corner and was placing its duty to the lawyer population at the top of its priority list, understanding that the public protector role had already been appropriately addressed (and will always be important, but not uppermost for the moment).
New Jersey goes far afield to protect the public!
New Jersey lawyers are taxed in order to fund a doctors' malpractice insurance fund. Wow! Talk about protecting the public! So why are we arguing about disclosure provisions and a false facade or merely apparent protection of the public in California?
Why aren't we suggesting true protection of the public by putting some muscle behind the effort ... money! Why don't we create a State Bar insurance fund as they did in Oregon and provide real backing to the idea of public protection from miscreant lawyers?
Quoted in the Daily Journal
Proponents say the insurance disclosure rules would help to protect the public from shoddy legal representation and ease the burden on members who pay $40 annually into a fund that covers uninsured attorneys. That fund pays out $6 million annually and its reserves are dwindling, according to former bar president John Van de Kamp.
Attorneys have 90 days to comment after the proposed rules are posted in the bar's Web site. But some quickly expressed opposition.
Ed Poll, who runs LawBiz Management Co., and is a vice chair of the bar's Council of Section Chairs, said any such requirement would be prohibitively expensive to sole practitioners and lawyers in small firms.
Moreover, he said, the proposal "does not protect the public."
"If the bar really wanted to protect the public, they would not stop at disclosure, they would mandate insurance," said Poll, whose Web site, www.lawbiz.com, displays comments from lawyers who are against the idea. "But if they did that, the know they would have a riot on their hands."
Written by Savannah Blackwell and Erin Park, Daily Journal Staff Writers ... www.dailyjournal.com ... June 20, 2006
If the Bar really cared about protecting the public ...
What Do Huge Multi-National Corporations Look for in Outside Counsel?
Let's take another look at what general counsel are searching for when they hire outside law firms. This time, Thomas S. Brooks, Vice President of AT&T Law & Government Affairs, shares his views on the subject.
Click here to listen to the interview
Continue Reading...How can we know what is next?
See today's commentary by Adam Smith. He suggests that the entire firm, if the culture is trusting, has a collective antenna about how the practice of law, and particularly their practice, will change in the future. Then, the trick will be how the firm can prepare itself for that future. His major point, I think, is that too many firms practice in the moment and fail to prepare themselves for their future.
Disclosure is a win for the insurance companies
From another sole practitioner:
"It is my opinion that this whole issue is another win for the insurance companies.
Disclosure should include claims made
If the bar is going to post the fact of insurance or no insurance, they should also require every attorney to report every malpractice claim and post that as well. I think as a potential client, I would more interested in the number and types of claims filed against my prospective lawyer.
Jan Butler
(Response: I agree with you, Jan. The fact of claims is far more important to the public than the existence of insurance. I think you hit the nail on the head! That disclosure would be a far greater benefit to the public than the existence of insurance. And, settlement agreements should not be allowed to provide for silence, non-disclosure, provisions. The fact of the claim, itself, should be sufficient to require disclosure.)
Disclosure - A further question
In all the other cases, there isn’t even a client (or public) security fund as in the legal profession …
Another response to Malpractice Insurance issue
Get another 22 days each year!
Ed Poll, principal of LawBiz Management interviews Gayle Carson, president of Carson Research Center, on the topic of time management. While no one can truly manage time, Gayle shows us how to "pick up" 22 eight hour days over a year's time. That would make one very interesting vacation, or allow us to do a lot of additional billable work. .
Further response to State Bar proposal
Thank you, Carolyn.
In MyShingle.com, Carolyn Elefant said, among other things: "… Ed is the first LPM expert I've read who apparently, isn't looking to profit off the rules by accepting them and then charging solos to help them comply. Rather, he's using his expertise to help our profession achieve the right results.
There are many gurus who "talk the talk" of solo practice. But Ed Poll is out here in the trenches, walking the walk along with us."
Responses to Bar's proposal
Hear are several comments in response to the clarion call.
Let me know what you think. I'll convey your perspective to the State Bar ....
"No taxation without representation!" State Bar has forgotten this founding principle.
On Saturday, June 17th, The State Bar of California moved one step closer toward approving a new Rule of Professional Conduct requiring all California lawyers disclose whether they have malpractice insurance coverage. The Board approved a resolution to send out for public comment a new Rule that requires disclosure to each client AND to the State Bar for placement on the Bar’s web site whether the lawyer has malpractice insurance.
The following memorandum was prepared in opposition to the Board’s position for two reasons:
First, The Board adopted not more than three months ago that the State Bar has two purposes:
1.) To serve and advance the interests of its members, and 2.) To protect the public.
This resolution contradicts the basic tenet of that spirit in that members' interests are ignored. In fact, more than 60% of the Bar's members' economic interests are ignored.
Second, the current resolution also does not serve the real interests of public against unscrupulous attorneys (the few that may be out there); in fact, it does NOT protect the public.
Thus, the following is a statement of my initial thoughts on the resolution approved by the Board of Governors for public comment of the proposed Rule to require disclosure of whether a lawyer has malpractice insurance.
Bar fails again to protect its members!
The proposed revisions to the New York Rules of Professional Conduct concerning lawyer advertising were referred to me by Lisa Solomon.
After reviewing the proposed changes, I had some thoughts, expressed below without reference to any one section. My comments are of a "macro nature," not focused on the language of any one section.
How do Corporate Counsel select outside counsel
Steven A. Lauer, having been both inside and outside counsel, shares his thoughts on how today's lawyers should approach insiden general counsel to get their trust ... and their business. He currently is the Director of Integrity Research, Integrity Interactive Corporation.
Corporate Law Departments - What do they need?
General Counsel of Corporate Law Departments are like most clients, except that they may have less time to focus on what they want/need. They tend to be true multi-taskers, wearing several hats at one time. They are the lawyer for the company. If they are effective, they are also a trusted business advisor to the CEO and other corporate managers. This leaves them less time, perhaps, to focus on the legal side than other clients. How can we meet their time-compressed needs?
Continue Reading...MCLE whining -- Too many hours of CLE are required!
Some lawyers complain about being compelled to take continuing education programs. Lawyers generally are required to take 12 hours of continuing education per year. California now requires its lawyers take only 8 hours per year. Certified public accountants in California are required to take 12 hours. And doctors are required to take 25 hours per year! Good thing we're not doctors! <g>
But, wait, did you realize that plumbers are required to take education programs to retain their contractors license? Why should lawyers complain about education requirements? As I note below, the good lawyers don't complain. They take the programs; they teach the programs. In a misguided perception of listening to its constituency, the Bar believes that including management programs in the MCLE curriculum is onerous and unprofessional!
In an OpEd piece I wrote in the current edition of Los Angeles Lawyer, I suggest that law practice management education can be used to help us learn how to run our practice more effectively and to address the issues that are of real concern to clients ... and thereby reduce complaints filed be clients before our Disciplianry Boards across the country.
ALA's Legal Management
Rules of Engagement, How Senior Law Firm Administrators Can Protect Their Jobs, appears at page 72 in the current edition of Legal Management, the publication of the Association of Legal Administrators.
ALA has just asked me to write a regular column for them and our first regular effort will appear in their September issue. Stay tuned!
Please send me (edpoll@lawbiz.com) your thoughts about what topics you would like to see discussed in my columns.
Proof of blogging value
Denise Howell, a fellow blogger, made it to NPR. As i was driving back home this evening (Sunday), there she was! I was interested in the topic -- How Apple sought to suggest that electronic communication is not journalism and therefore not protected under the Constitution.
But, more importantly, her public pronouncements on her blog has made her a recognized expert in her field which then got re-enforced by the radio interview.
Keep up the great work, Denise! This really can show the rest of us the lighted path to success in the new era of technology ...
Can you use coupons to market your legal services?
Michelle Golden suggets that lawyers consider using coupons to attract prospects to use your services now rather than later, if at all. Sounds like an interesting idea, but you still must somehow market the availability of the coupon. Why not just let people know that you exist, what you do and why they should call you now?
Microsoft hits another home run!
Jeff Riffer, senior litigation partner in the law firm of Jeffer Mangels Butler & Marmaro in Los Angeles, CA, discusses why and how he uses Microsoft's OneNoteTM software for day-to-day litigation.
Continue Reading...Vanity postage
According to Business Week, PhotStamps was one of the most innovative and exciting products for 2005. The US Postal Service annually receives 40,000 requests/submissions for new stamps and approves 35. However, the USPS approved a one year test for personalized stamps.
Continue Reading...Can you commingle for a day and be safe?
Jonathan Stein (creator of a very fine marketing listserv on yahoogroups.com) in his blog suggested that he escaped an ethical problem because he had a few extra dollars in his clients' trust account. Those few ($100) dollars assured him that his bank wouldn't invade clients' funds if they charged an expense item against the account. Jonathan does say to check your State's rules of professional conduct if you want to consider doing this.
His suggestion brings to mind several experiences I have encountered with coaching clients of mine.
Continue Reading...
Litigation advice! Also good elsewhere ....
A piece of advice taught in law school and often ignored by trial counsel: Never ask a question of a witness when you don't know the answer that will be forthcoming from the witness!
Continue Reading...Sole practitioner fee cannot be "blended"
The 2nd Circuit panel of Judges Guido Calabresi, Jose A. Cabranes and Richard C. Wesley, in McDonald v. Pension Plan, cv-05-1435, 1630, 1749, 4140, 4288, vacated a lower court's attorney fee award on the grounds that the lower court inappropriately applied a blended rate to a sole practitioner's fee application.
Continue Reading...Legal Profession Values
Rules of professional conduct require that lawyers i) have independence of judgment, ii) protect the confidentiality of client information, and iii) be loyal to clients through the avoidance of conflicts of interest. In addition, lawyers must be iv) competent. These requirements have nothing to do with clients. These are about the lawyer, about being a better lawyer technically!
Continue Reading...ROI on blogging
ROI, return on investment, is an important issue in measuring both the value and merit of any business task. When it comes to blogging, it is a much more difficult task for many reasons. But, the discussion is beginning.
And Debbie Weil has written books on the subject ... Check it out.
Business Competency for Lawyers
Thanks to Elizabeth Anne "Betiayn" Tursi, editor-in-chief of Law Journal Newsletters' Marketing the Law Firm for reviewing our latest work, Business Competency for Lawyers, a LawBiz Management Special Report in the June 2006 edition. She also reviewed The Essential Little Book of Great Lawyering, by James A. Durham, currently the Chief Marketing Officer at Ropes & Gray in Boston
Don't lower your fee -- Fee is not the issue!
Carolyn Elefant, in MyShingle, suggests that a new lawyer should compete on price. Perhaps to be more fair, she asks "why not?"
Continue Reading...What is the value of an associate to a law firm?
Suzanne Rose writes about the economics of an associate's practice.
See a different approach to the issue of associate compensation ... and whether a law firm can afford you ... or stated another way, will the law firm continue to employ the associate being reviewed?
Is blogging worth the effort?
There are posts from Michelle Golden and Suzanne Rose that would draw you to an affirmative conclusion. Both articles are well written and deserve to be read if this is an issue for you.
Telecommuting may be at risk
HP, one of the first (if not the first!) company to allow telecommuting, just announced that it was wiping out its IT telecommuting!
Most, if not all, of its 1000 persons IT staff around the world will now report to one of 25 offices nearest their homes. In some cases, this may mean quite a move, even thousands of miles.
The standards and practices of some of the telecommuters was less than ideal ... You've heard of the expression, "One bad apple can spoil the barrel." Apparently, enough questionable practices surfaced to compel the new division chief, formerly with 2 major high tech companies, to re-examine this practice and eliminate it ... at least for the moment.
What impact will this move have on industry in general and on law firms in particular? The debate has festered for years in large law firms, with the desire for telecommuting seeminly winning ... HP may be opening the door on yet another movement, this time back to the office where people can physically and frequently interact with one another to make the entire team effort more effective and more productive!
