Venice, CA – June 6, 2011. Award-winning law business management coach and consultant Ed Poll is bringing his nationally recognized practices, tips and advice to bar associations, law schools and other top venues across America this summer.
The tour will include 15-20 stops throughout the US from June through September 2011, starting on the West Coast and heading East. Tentative tour stops include Portland, Seattle, the San Francisco Bay Area, San Jose, Dallas, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Chicago, Nashville, Memphis, Columbus, Cleveland, Washington, DC, Atlanta, Philadelphia, New York City and Boston. For more information about the tour, please go to www.lawbiz.com/roadshow
The tour, which is sponsored by Fujitsu ScanSnap and others, will include presentations for CLE credit on law practice management issues, on topics such as Managing Client Expectations, Collecting Fees and Getting Paid, Metrics of Financial Performance, Tips for Increased Revenue, and The Exit Strategy: Succession & Retirement.
Presentations will include time for Q&A and will be followed by a special Coach’s Corner coaching session. In this unique format, Ed will offer coaching help to one or two attendees about their specific law business management issues, within the group context. This allows the entire audience to watch the interaction and consider how they may apply the discussion to their own specific situation.
“For the first time in American history, thousands of lawyers have been laid-off,” said Ed Poll. “Lawyers need to know more about The Business of Law® in order to survive, let alone thrive, by effectively meeting the needs and expectations of clients. This tour will help address many of the challenges facing the sole practitioners and small firms today.”
About Ed Poll
Recently quoted in the New York Times and the ABA Journal, Ed Poll, founder of LawBiz Management, is a nationally recognized expert in law practice management. He helps attorneys and law firms increase their profitability by consulting with them on issues of internal operations, business development, and financial matters. Poll 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 2010, he received the first ever Lifetime Achievement Award from the California Bar Association’s Law Practice Management and Technology Section.
Poll is the author of numerous publications that have become the definitive works in the field, including 18 books, CDs and DVD collections. His newest offerings are Growing Your Law Practice in Tough Times (West Publishing, 2010) and 8 Steps to Greater Profitability: The Lawyer’s Guide to Prosperity (LawBiz Management, 2011). He has also authored books on business planning for attorneys, improving collections, buying and selling law practices, disaster preparedness and recovery, and exit strategies for legal practitioners. His offerings are available at LawBizStore.com.
Poll hosts the LawBiz Forum, an interactive community for the legal profession, as well as the LegalPadTM video series. He is a columnist for several publications geared to the legal community, including the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly and Legal Management, and hosts regular webinars for West Legal Management. Poll earned BS and JD degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an MBA from the University of Southern California.
About LawBiz Management
LawBiz Management is the nation’s leading firm dedicated to managing the Business of Law® . The company focuses on helping lawyers reach their goals and law firms improve their practices by increasing revenues, improving profits, and reducing the stress of the practice experienced by lawyers. Among the services offered are coaching, consulting, speaking and managing firm retreats. LawBiz Management also consults on the buying and selling of law practices.
What are the more than 400,000 “baby boomers” going to do in the next 10 years? For some, who are working in private practice law firms, the issue may be particularly important — because they may be “fired.” This may not be the word used; it may be “eased out,” “de-equitized,” “transitioned to new status” within the firm. If the lawyer is lucky, he/she may still have a place to go and income (though reduced) to receive. But, egos will be bruised.
This topic is handled nicely by recent article in the New York Times. In that article, Norm Levine (a friend and client) suggests that the real issue is not age, but rather productivity. Even lawyers who are quite young can have productivity issues while “old” lawyers are still going gangbusters. The EEOC is examining this issue in a number of current cases. And the ABA Journal is following the dialogue.
This issue applies to many professions, such as the nursing profession, the accounting profession and others.
The only real protection is to make sure you’re a vigorous rainmaker; don’t let your skills deteriorate or your energy lag as you get older. Make sure you have very good client relationships and “control” the firm – client business relationship. And/or make sure you have a unique skill set that is hard for the firm to replace with younger lawyers.
Of course, if you’re a sole practitioner, you can sell your law practice when you choose to vacate the office. I am find more and more lawyers calling me about creating their exit strategy, which they expect will include a sale. A client of mine wants to leave the practice later this year at the age of 80. He’s had a great career … and we/he just signed a contract for the sale of his practice. That’s a great way to go — on top, healthy and with time left to do other things you would like to enjoy.
Lawyers today are looking at this issue more closely than ever before. Succession planning is one of the hot topics bar associations are asking me to address as I start our on our Road to Revenue National Road Show. Call me if you want me to visit your community.
Ed Poll talks about how marketing is about differentiation. Stand out. Be remember. Be called. Get clients. How do you know if it’s working? If you get more money, more calls, more referrals. It’s all a numbers game.
Despite today’s economy, some law firms are growing … by merger and acquisition.
In fact, I had lunch with such a law firm just this last week. They are an 100 lawyers firm that is seeking to grow. They are interested in acquiring my client, a substantial boutique that would add a significant presence for them both in the relevant practice area as well as the geographic area.
We couldn’t seem to connect, however. I made it very clear that my client was talking about selling his firm. Their offer suggested that they were interested in "merging." The reason was simple: No capital outlay was needed for a merger. The "offer" was structured in a way that would pay my client several hundred thousand dollars more than he is currently earning. And 100% of the payment to my client would be tax deductible as an ordinary expense, not a capital expenditure. They structured the offer this way also in order to be sure that the "book of business" follows my client for several years. This, was not what we wanted … we are not looking to become partners in the acquiring firm.
During our conversation, it became clear why we were communicating at different levels…
Lawyers need to communicate.The ones who face malpractice actions typically fail to communicate with their clients to learn what clients want, how they want to hear about it, and where the client’s business or personal needs may be headed.
But I think lawyers – and most of the rest of society – have increasingly fallen into the trap of too much communication with their cell and smart phones. Cell phone use for many people seems to have become a natural extension of themselves – they inflict it on everybody around them. Just like drivers who hog the left lane while driving at half the speed limit and remaining oblivious to everyone else on the road, these cell phone users hog the physical space of those around them with the sound of their own voice, and are oblivious to how irritating it is.It’s not hard to create a list of pet peeves about these people.
Here are some of mine:
·People determined to shout their conversations as loudly as possible, presumably to show off their wit or importance or intelligence (and of course doing the opposite).
·People who board a plane and decide to place orders on their cell while sharing their private credit card information.
·People who look for the proper signal area – with a constant "Can you hear me? Can you hear me now?" – but never seem to find it.
·People who let their cell phone ring time after time, in a workshop or a concert or anywhere else where they can ignore the stares of those they annoy.
·People sharing half of their life stories in an elevator or a crowded vehicle, completely unaware that others don’t care about all the “fascinating” details.
·People who absolutely must interrupt their call with me to get another call rather than letting it go to voice mail.
My “favorites” are those who talk while in the stall of a public restroom. When I encounter one of them, I make as much bathroom noise as possible (flushing toilets or urinals multiple times, using the hand-dryers). Anything to let the individual on the other end of the phone know that the person is talking to them from a bathroom….
I’m sure you have your own special list of such people.Share it and I’ll pass along the responses in a future post.Maybe all of us together can generate enough “shaming” to change some behaviors.
Ed continues his conversation regarding the changes facing today’s law firms to remain competitive.
Corporate clients have the ability to explore other markets in search of better rates from attorneys who will provide good quality work. Ed share a few suggestions to help you in your practice of Business of Law®
Even marketing folks are concerned about the return on the investment in one’s daily activities. While some folks, yes, lawyers too, ignore the money, marketing professionals are trying to convince their management that they are important to the success of their organization, that they are responsible for a lot of new business.
AdAge says: "…Return on advertising investment has always been a priority for marketers, but in the recession it flew to the top of the list. As chief marketing officers fought to justify spending within their organizations — often via spirited discussions with procurement departments about where the dollars are going… " The Days, the subject matter of this article, I’m pleased to say are friends … and outstanding marketers who focus on providing a profit on marketing dollars spent.
Do you look at this issue? Can you determine whether the money you spend is producing a profit, is enabling you to expand in your practice area, is improving your skill as a lawyer, or otherwise contributing to the improvement of your law practice? You should. If not, you’re in the gardening, playing with the dirt rather than growing gorgeous roses for sale to others who can appreciate your skills.
Alan Weiss, a noted consultant (and my coach) said today: "… I’ve never seen happy customers when there are unhappy employees (either naturally unhappy or angry at the employer). I have seen happy employees and unhappy customers (no supervision, lazy, entitled). Always hire enthusiasm, you can teach the content.(emphasis added) … And make sure you demonstrate within the business the behavior you’d like to see bestowed on the customer. .."
Another way of saying this is what I’ve always preached: Hire for work ethic; hire someone who is passionate about their work, about making a contribution to the organization. and about focusing on the client, not themselves. The rest can be taught. Skills can be taught, attitude cannot.
