By Ed Poll on Posted in Cash Flow - Finances,Coaching,Management,Marketing,Personal Thoughts,TechnologyIn a recent case, the lawyer was successful in growing his practice. So much so that he engaged 30 staff; they met with clients and even provided legal advice in loan modification matters. The net result is that the attorney did not provide adequate supervision for his staff and allowed them to five legal advice.… Continue Reading
By Ed Poll on Posted in Articles,Cash Flow - Finances,Management,Marketing,Personal ThoughtsIn years gone by, many people attended law school because a legal education enhanced their skills. In today’s world, entry into law school is first evaluated based on ROI, return on investment. And, in some instances, the comparison is coming up short. After the Great Recession, getting a job after law school was not guaranteed.… Continue Reading
By Ed Poll on Posted in Coaching,In The News,ManagementThe conduct of lawyers, not just litigators, continues to go “south.” Why is this? Have the teachings of our mothers and fathers gone unheeded? Or, in this more litigious world, and the greater incidence of divorce (most of which is with great conflict), do manners, good taste and just plain “niceness” go out the window?… Continue Reading
By Ed Poll on Posted in Articles,In The News,ManagementIn today’s newspaper, Don J. DeBenedictis, staff writer for the Journal, discusses law schools’ new approach to help law school graduates find jobs. This idea is one of several being discussed to match the supply and demand of legal services. It is clear that there is a greater demand for legal services than is now… Continue Reading
By Ed Poll on Posted in ManagementAn ABA task force recently found that only 56% of recent law school graduates achieve full-time employment as an attorney within twelve months of graduation, over the last five years, applicants to law schools have declined by roughly 50% from approximately 100,000 to approximately 50,000 per year. This will have a dramatic impact on the… Continue Reading
By Ed Poll on Posted in ManagementNew rules relating to the issuance of 1099 forms are in place that impact even funds in one’s IOLTA account. If you have oversight and management of the funds such as selecting the expert witnesses or investigators in a personal injury matter, you may have sufficient dominance to be required to issue a 1099. See… Continue Reading
By Ed Poll on Posted in ManagementAccording to the ABA, only 56 percent of nearly 46,000 law school graduates had a job in 2012 requiring bar passage nine months after graduation. And less than 1 in 5 of the legal problems experienced by low-income people are addressed by a private attorney or a legal aid lawyer. The president of the ABA… Continue Reading
By Ed Poll on Posted in ManagementIn response to my recent question, one of our readers responded by saying “… Listen to them (clients), acknowledge what they have said (“active listening”), make sure you understand their concern/pain, and address it (their concern) effectively (competent representation per the rules of professional conduct)…” Sounds like a formula for success. … Continue Reading
By Ed Poll on Posted in Management,MarketingLinda Popky, marketing consultant of Leverage2Market, writes her Top of Mind piece this week about a serious marketing blunder, as follows: “…. (T)he local Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH) store featured a great buy on a tabletop propane heater….There was only one problem. A propane heater naturally requires propane to work. And even though OSH carries… Continue Reading
By Ed Poll on Posted in ManagementIn the June issue of the ABA Journal, ABA President Laura Bellows talked about the gender pay inequity in the legal profession, comparing today with 50 years ago when President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act. The difference is 77 cents now vs. 59 cents then. And even today, Ms. Bellows says “(f)emale equity partners… Continue Reading
By Ed Poll on Posted in Management,MarketingWhile doom-sayers proclaim that the legal profession’s problem is too many lawyers, practical experience often tells a different story. A friend recently shared this story with me: “When we needed an immigration attorney, only one returned our calls of enquiry from the several my husband called locally, (she got our business) and when we were… Continue Reading
By Ed Poll on Posted in Management,MarketingI wrote recently about the great chasm between lawyer supply and demand for legal services. I suggested that this is an age-old problem only because many lawyers are courting a very small market segment, the large companies of the world. The bulk of the consuming public has less ability to pay but still great need. And… Continue Reading
By Ed Poll on Posted in ManagementYears ago, I wrote that new lawyers preferred to work for law firms that invested in their training so that they could become better lawyers. Nah, the response was: They want the money. I responded that when you get $100,000 plus as a newly minted lawyer, the money is good, but secondary. And, of course,… Continue Reading
By Ed Poll on Posted in ManagementThe Wall Street Journal carried a column on November 11, 2013, “Big Law Mergers Questioned," that contained two blinding glimpses of the obvious – one explicit, one implicit. The explicit one was straightforward, yet seemed to elude the understanding of the writer: that in pursuing mergers to create ever-bigger organizations, law firms are simply following… Continue Reading
By Ed Poll on Posted in Management,MarketingFor the 2013 academic year, law school admissions were headed for a 30-year low, a decline driven by student worries about rising tuition, debt load and unemployment after graduation. Potential law students increasingly understand that today it is a fool’s gamble to spend many thousands of dollars in the hope of getting a well-paying job… Continue Reading
By Ed Poll on Posted in ManagementShould the merger take place between Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe and Pillbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, there will be a reordering of the top U.S. law firms. The BCS rankings reorder every week after the Saturday college football results are known. So, too, do the BigLaw rankings change every time there is a major merger. Will… Continue Reading
By Ed Poll on Posted in ManagementWhen I was in my undergraduate studies, I realized that there were two types of learning. There were those who were naturally brilliant and could play during the semester, “cramming” or studying only before exams; they did quite well. Then, there were those of us who required continuous study throughout the year in addition to… Continue Reading
By Ed Poll on Posted in ManagementMost people will agree that there are too many lawyers, an oversupply. (Parenthetically, I disagree; it seems to me that there is a dislocation between the supply and the demand for legal services, a situation that the organized bar has never been able to reconcile with successfully.) But I digress. Assuming, for the moment, that… Continue Reading
By Ed Poll on Posted in Coaching,ManagementIn a recent article, the writer describes a twist in medical fees. A specialist, in this case a cardiologist, is charging a premium retainer fee for accessibility. That’s access, not treatment! The levels of service created by the cardiologist are $7,500 per year for “concierge” service, $1,800 for “premier” status, and $500 for “select” status.… Continue Reading
By Ed Poll on Posted in Life After Law,Management,MarketingI had never thought of digital assets being inherited! Wow, what an oversight. Clearly, digital property is an asset and can be passed on to the next generation. Have you thought about the goodwill represented by your Twitter account, your blog, you website and all the other digital assets you create? If not, you should… Continue Reading
By Ed Poll on Posted in Cash Flow - Finances,ManagementMyCase legal practice management software has announced an integration with the popular accounting software QuickBooks. This is an important integration, as it allows law firms to have full synchronicity between their practice management and accounting software systems. The integration comes at no additional cost to MyCase customers. For at least 15 years, I have been preaching "integration"… Continue Reading
By Ed Poll on Posted in Management,TechnologyOn Thursday, August 22, the NASDAQ, one of the largest financial exchanges in the world, failed. It had no backup, and was down for more than three hours. The financial impact had to be in the billions of dollars. Even as big as NASDAQ is, even though they have a pivotal role in the… Continue Reading
By Ed Poll on Posted in ManagementSome law firms are late to the starting gate. Some firms continue to hang on to the "old ways" of running their practice. There are only a few alternative paths: Hang on with the old and wait for the world to catch up, or change as the world changes, making the tough decisions on a… Continue Reading
By Ed Poll on Posted in Management,TechnologyVisiting ALM LegalTech conference today was eye popping in both its simplicity and complexity. First, the simple: D. Casey Flaherty, corporate counsel at Kia Motors America, suggests that law firms don’t need more software. They need to use their existing software more efficiently and effectively. What a concept. Reminds me of the scientists’ suggesting that… Continue Reading
