Clients seek to control the costs of their legal challenges. According to a study by the Association of Corporate Counsel, as noted by Larry Bodine, corporate general counsel do so in the following ways:
"The most common methods to control outside legal spending during the past year were: case/matter budgets (52.9%), discounted/alternative fees (52.9%), re-allocation of work to firms with lower rates (43.7%), billing guidelines/ spending rules (43.7%), and electronic bill reviewing and auditing (34.6%)."0
While reallocation of work seems to be an obvious choice, I’ve always wondered why more law firms don’t do this. If you have several choices among quality law firms, why wouldn’t you go with the less expensive? Perhaps because business is often based on relationships, and if there is a good relationship between client and counsel, the legal work may not go into play to find out whether there is a less expensive option available. This is often called "loyalty," the most desired state of affairs for vendor-partners.
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Carlolyn Elefant has created yet another e-book, available for free, and worth reading.
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Bill padding is the perfect crime, according to William Ross. There are many examples lawyers can point to in their own firms. However, there may be an element that some are overlooking. That is the obligation to “snitch” on one’s peers if they suspect the practice is being committed by a colleague.
Obviously, such practices are difficult to detect by clients. The question is whether such practices can be detected by a colleague and then, if suspicion exists, what needs to be done about it. Must the lawyer report the suspected practice to the firm? Must the lawyer report the suspected practice to the client? Must the lawyer report the suspected practice to the State Bar disciplinary board?
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West LegalEdcenter will host our second teleseminar on the topic of social networking. David Nour, author of the new book, Relationship Economics, and I will talk about the new phenomenon being used to link with others and network with colleagues. Join us. Sign up now! The price is right – FREE.
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Listen to Patrick Lamb, a prominent attorney and leader in the discussion of value billing and alternative fees. In our podcast, I asked Patrick to discuss the impact of today’s crises on both legal fees and attorney compensation.
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Complete your daily timesheets by day’s end. The best practice is to keep a running log of time (software-based or otherwise) of everything you do as you do it. Or, certainly before leaving the office that day. Even if your memory rivals that of the elephant, you will miss things if you don’t do this every single day.
One missed 10th of an hour each day translates to 23 lost hours a year. At $100 per hour, computing this time, without doing more work at all, will result in $2,300 additional revenue. That isn’t much, but it’s more than a good dinner. Increase these numbers by your actual billable rate … and the time you actually don’t bill, you will increase revenue by a very significant number!
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LawBiz® facilitated a webinar about social networking and the benefits of this new technology for lawyers. David Nour, an expert on Relationship Economics, joined me in what the audience described as an outstanding learning experience. As the saying goes, it was like "drinking from a fire hose."
Substantially more than 100 people signed up and others contacted me with calendar conflicts. By popular demand, we will do our program again; we also will produce a DVD of this week’s program; and my teleseminar with West LegalEdcenter on December 9th at 11 a.m. PT will bring David and me together again for another edition of social networking.
Stay tuned. Subcribe to LawBiz® Tips for current information as it is posted.
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The Business of Law® is not a generic term. In 1995, lawyers did not think they were in a business, let alone a service business. And I was successful in my application to register this as my mark. It has been my mark for more than 10 years.
Today, lawyers in the large law firms understand that law is an honorable profession, but is also a business.
Peter Zeughauser in the ALM Law Firm Leaders conference said that the AmLaw 100 revenues are $64.5 B. That’s BILLION dollars. And 3 firms account for 10% of that number; that “profits” (why are we talking about profits if we’re not in business?) increased 8.7% in 2008, ranging from a low of $410,000 to $4.95 million.
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During times of economic crisis, law firms need to be even more careful with the economics of their practice, according to writer Shannon Nelson of Law360.
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Extend the Reach of Your Rain Making Using Web 2.0
VENICE, CALIF. October 14, 2008—Law management guru, Ed Poll, JD, MBA, CMC, and social networking guru, David Nour, will present a free webinar for managing partners and law firm administrators on October 28, 2008 at 12:00PM (PST). The webinar will show listeners how they can extend the reach of their business development activities using social media strategies such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Second Life, and Plaxo.
Webinar host, Ed Poll, is a nationally recognized management consultant who has helped to transform many law practices into profitable and successful businesses. Featured guest, David Nour, is a social networking strategist and author of Relationship Economics (Wiley, 2008). In this webinar, the hosts will show listeners how to develop a meaningful online presence on social networking sites that enhance online visibility and search engine ranking, modernize business development by bringing it into the 21st century and increase profitability.
This one-hour presentation will provide an overview of LinkedIn: the ultimate business-to-business social networking platform, and discuss how to create a content-rich profile that will position a law firm or an individual practitioner on one of the networking platforms to enhance prospective client outreach and provide quality information about the services offered.
Additionally, the webinar will discuss the best practices used by social networkers on how to handle stagnated relationships, unanswered requests, unsolicited invitations and how not to abuse the system. Content covered in the webinar will also include the more advanced strategies of social networking, including advanced search techniques for a more targeted effort, turning answers into alliances, knowledge management, and the value of premium memberships.
For more information on how to register for the webinar, held on October 28, 2008 at 12:00 PM (PST), please visit www.lawbiz.com.
About Ed Poll
Ed Poll, JD, MBA, CMC, is a nationally recognized expert in law practice management. He helps attorneys and law firms increase their profitability, consulting with them on issues of internal operations, business development, and financial matters. Ed brings his clients a solid background in both law and business. He has 25 years experience as a practicing attorney and has also served as CEO and COO for several manufacturing businesses. In 1990 he founded LawBiz® Management Company and is now focused on coaching, speaking, and training law firms.
Ed is the author of numerous publications that have become the definitive works in the field and has just released his newest book Law Firm Fees & Compensation: Value & Growth Dynamics (LawBiz® Management Co., 2008). He is also a columnist for the Association of Legal Administrators and contributes the “LawBiz® Coach’s Corner” to Lawyers Weekly.
About David Nour
David Nour is a social networking strategist and one of the foremost thought leaders on the quantifiable value of business relationships. In a global economy that is becoming increasingly disconnected, BeOne Now is solving global client challenges with intracompany, as well as externally focused, Strategic Relationship Planning™.
David is the author of Relationship Economics (Wiley, 2008) and What Every Entrepreneur Needs To Know About Raising Capital (Praeger, 2009), a senior management advisor, and a featured speaker for corporate, association and academic forums, where he shares his knowledge and experience as a leading change agent and catalyst for Relationship Economics® – the art and science of business relationships.
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