Are you worrying about your competition?
There is much talk about how competitive the legal market has become. And this reminds me of an old Chinese proverb: “He who doesn't turn runs far. “
In track and field events, the coach tells you to look at the tape in front of you, not who is behind you. Likewise, in running your law practice, do the best you can, focus on your skills (and improve them), on the efficiency and cost of delivering your legal services (use technology to improve your efficiency) ... and, of course, on your clients and their needs (and wants). Then, you will have given it (your profession) your best shot.
John Wooden said, “The scoreboard? Championships? A sales quota? The bottom line? As goals, predictions, hopes, or dreams to be sealed up (in an envelope) and filed away, fine. But, as a day to day preoccupation they’re a waste of time, stealing attention and effort from the present and squandering it on the future. You control the former, not the latter.
“An organization - a team - that’s always looking up at the scoreboard will find a worthy opponent stealing the ball right out from under you....” Coach seldom scouted the opposition, focusing instead on what needed to be done to improve his team and prepare them to be the best they could be.
Language is Everything ...
Traveling in the heat of 2011 was an incredible journey, one with many complaints ...
until we learned about the hardships Lewis & Clark suffered ...
with no maps or other guides to refuge. We again learned to be happy with what we had ...
there is always someone who suffers more.
Succession -- By the numbers
I've written extensively about lawyers planning for the succession of their practice, whether by merger, sale, or simply retiring by just walking away one day, closing their door forever more.
Some failed to plan well or spent their working lives increasing their standard of living to meet their compensation level -- and not saving; others suffered financial losses in the economic downturn; and still others have lived beyond what they expected with their savings depleted by normal bills or chronic illness.
But, what are the numbers? I haven't seen hard and fast numbers for the legal profession ... but here are some numbers for our country ... which I believe shed some light on the legal community.
The unemployment rate for Americans older than 75 years is twice what it was only five years ago. The rate might be higher if older folks were not embarrassed to say they are looking for work.There has been a 25% jump in the number of older people in the work force in the last 5 years. By 2018, the government projects that 10% of people over 75 years of age will be working or seeking work. Average net worth of households with at least one person over 70 years of age went down by 27% between 2007 and 2009. In 1981, social security paid 52% of the average worker's pre-retirement earnings; in 2001, the percentage was 39% and expected to decline further.
Can you afford to retire: Succession may be a luxury
More elderly find they cannot afford to retire ... they must continue to work. The recent economic woes have taken a big bite out of the retirement hopes and plans of the Baby Boomers. And this includes lawyers.
Just today, a lawyer in his late 60's called me to talk about selling his practice and retiring. But, he said, he enjoys what he does and financially cannot see his way to retiring. For interesting tax reasons, he turned away from selling his practice. Of course, he didn't consult me before he made this decision.
But, I find it interesting that the prediction made by the ABA only a few years ago that by 2020 (or perhaps sooner), 400,000 lawyers would retire. As evidenced by the phone conversation today, I believe the numbers are correct, but the timing is not. Succession planning, whether a solo or large firm practitioner, will require more thought than we anticipated. And experts should be consulted to determine sales potential, tax planning (both estate and consequences of a sale) and future personal life planning.
Why Marketing Matters for Lawyers, Part 2
Ed shares some thoughts on electronic marketing and offers ideas on how traditional marketing can help you stand out in the crowd.
You are more likely to be remembered, thus contacted, if you reach people on a personal level.
Differentiating yourself will lead to increased:
- calls by clients and prospects
- meetings
- calls from the media
- meetings
And most importantly:
More money in the bank.
Language is Everything ...
This is where our 1968 Ambassador Airstream was made... Jackson, Ohio.
It was great to visit SteSpot's birthplace and see how they do it today.... :-)
Law firms can now use ".org"
The web is changing. First, everyone wanted to use "com" in their web address. The .com world became crowded, so we saw .biz, .net and others come onto the scene.
The .org generally was reserved for non-profit organizations ... But, now the Arizona Bar says that it's o.k. to use .org for profit-making organizations as well. This reverses an earlier Arizona state bar ethics panel decision (Arizona Ethics Op. 01-05 (2001)) that had found the use of the suffix ".org" by for-profit law firms would mislead consumers. This most recent opinion, (Arizona State Bar Committee on Rules of Professional Conduct, Op. 11-04), finds that the ".org" suffix is now more widely used by for-profits such that consumers of legal services will no longer be misled.
The cynic might say that the neighborhood has become so crowded that economic forces command that .org be available for everyone, profit and non-profit. My question is who is running the madhouse? Is this the Wild West where anything and everything goes? There was some comfort in knowing that .org was an institution or non-profit. But, since the world is upside down anyway in the last few years, why not the internet and web addresses?
Still, .com is the preferred suffix ... But, then, why do we need a suffix of any kind? It just means more letters have to be typed. While we're not cutting trees to write the extra 4 characters, we are using our energy (means we have to eat more to have energy to move our fingers more), we might encounter more finger strain (carpal tunnel syndrome), and other yet to be determined maladies. Where are the real reformers when we need them?
Why Marketing Matters for Lawyers, Part 1
Factors to Consider When Marketing You Firm:
-Have a Marketing Plan
-Consider the commonality between you and prospective clients.
-Play the Numbers Game
-The more people you can get in front of; the better the chance of someone engaging you.
-Build a quality referral sources
-Understand that people learn differently
-Connect with other professions who share your market
Taxpayer changes for cell phones and mileage rates
Cell phones removed from listed property category
Cell phones have become so ubiquitous that the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 has eliminated the need to create special record-keeping by taxpayers for employer-provided cell phones.
IRS makes mid-year 2011 adjustment to business standard mileage rate
For the third time in six years, the IRS announced a mid-year adjustment to the business standard mileage rate because of rising gasoline prices. The business standard mileage rate increased from 51 cents-per-mile to 55.5 cents-per-mile for the second half of 2011 and into 2012.
Legal forms for the price of an iTunes song?
There are many examples of how the legal profession is moving toward commoditization. The most recent commentary on the subject is Richard Granat's blog post.
Other examples include: Legal Zoom, currently in battle with the North Carolina Bar Association about the unauthorized practice of law; forms available in books (remember Novo?); and online (see Granat's blog post for some). People who believe they need legal help but can't afford it, will do the next best thing...get a form from these resources. This happens in estate planning, real estate transfers, even in some litigation, and in other practice areas as well.
This will result in greater segmentation (a marketing term) of the legal industry. The "bet the company" cases and large companies will still use good law firms; others with less serious matters will use lower cost lawyers or do-it-yourself forms. (Whether these forms create more legal work later is another and unimportant issue for now.) And at the lower end of the economic spectrum, you can expect to see great competition. Even large law firms at the higher end are experiencing competition, just at a different level of sophistication.
Change is in the air. Hold onto your hats; the legal world is moving!
Language is Everything ...
Amazing how many people seek to find shipwrecks.
One of the best is the one in Kansas City, MO ... The Arabia.
It's an incredible museum, privately owned and operated by the folks who found and brought up the steamboat ....
Managing Client Expectations
Ed discusses the three key areas to address in managing client expectations.
1.) Use the initial consultation to gauge a client's wants and whether you can meet their wants.
2.) An attorney's responsibility is to match what the client needs with what the client perceives they want.
3.) A monthly status report is a simple, yet critical tool to keep clients informed. --An attorney can monitor the monthly status reports to guarantee that the clients needs and wants are being met.
The Art of the Brochure, An interview with Lawrence Wolf, Esq.
23 minutes, 42 seconds
5.4MB
Lawyers again chastised for their billing!
In a December issue of the Wall Street Journal, the headline implies that lawyers are making far too much money in a Delaware case. This, despite the unheralded reduction in their fee request. But, it's easy too trash lawyers, and good headline writers (a special art in writing) are brilliant in getting readers to pick up the paper and keep reading ...
But, let's look at the facts:
First, the judge in the case said that the plaintiffs lawyers did an outstanding job, not just good, and such work should be rewarded. This is the same judge who historically penalizes lawyers when they fail to get results.
Second, the agreement between plaintiffs' lawyers and plaintiffs permitted counsel to ask the court for 30% and they applied for less, only 15%, not a normally outrageous percentage.
Third, the risk reward element of contingency cases should be evaluated as of the beginning of a matter. And in this case, the risk of no recovery was substantial. Victory was, by no means, assured. Monday morning quarter-backing is always performed by those who have a corporate bias, have no interest in the matter and just want to carp, are jealous or, worse, feel that lawyers should be heard, not seen. Reminds me of the criticism against lawyers who sued Ronald Reagan, as governor of California. Despite the fact that the lawyers won most, if not all, the lawsuits brought against the abuse by the State, neither the facts nor the victories was much discussed by those with a political agenda.
Last, these arguments that the lawyers' hourly billing rates were too high fly in the face of value billing, the new wave for corporate America. In other words, the results in this case were based on the value to the clients resulting from the effort and skill of the lawyers. In most cases, hourly billing results in higher legal fees ... fees unrelated to the value received by the client ... and fees that created certainty in the cost of the legal proceeding, an important factor to clients in most matters. It's important to know what the legal cost will be before embarking on a matter. Value billing provides this.
Thus, the criticism offered by the writer in the WSJ is off target, to say the least. Most criticisms against legal billings involve the hourly billings ... here, value billing was requested by the lawyers and their clients and approved by the court. Hoorays should have been the proffered by the writer, not whining.
Language is Everything ...
Not only inside, but "even in the street!"
That's a first.
Oh, and get rid of those bikes and horses!
Compensation Model for Small Firms
When you're hiring another attorney, don't think about how much bringing him or her on will COST. Instead, think about what revenues he or she will bring in. Take a look at this week's clips for more...
Language is Everything ...
The system of lighthouses along the coastline is truly remarkable ...
and stands to commemorate a bygone era.
