Articles

Transparency for E & O Insurance – Finally!

It didn’t take all that long … I received in the mail today, along with more holiday greeting cards, an errors & omissions insurance policy application. Finally, the insurance industry is showing its true colors in the recent campaign to have uninsured lawyers painted with the “yellow band” brush.

The cover letter for the application says, in bold print: “The Rules in California are Changing” and continues to talk about new Rule 3-410, effective January 1, 2010, to the effect that lawyers must disclose to clients in writing that they do not have E & O insurance coverage. The obvious ploy here is to scare lawyers into buying malpractice insurance.

How much more premium money will carriers earn from this new rule? And how much client defections will 20% of the California Bar suffer as a result of the inadequate measure recently adopted by the California Board of Governors and approved by the State Supreme Court? I suspect enough to have made the insurance industry’s efforts worth their while.

As though the bad economy hasn’t hurt the sole and small firm practitioners enough this year, the Bar throws more oil on the fire by either causing this group’s expenses to increase (to the obvious delight of the insurance industry) or its revenue to decrease. Either way makes this generally economically marginal group’s life more precarious …


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Find success by looking in the mirror

In today’s newsletter, I talk about how to find success in growing your practice. The column is entitled Finding Success By Looking in the Mirror. 

It’s also the time of year to wish y’all the best for the holiday season. My wife and I, and our latest family entrant, Bandit, of our photo contest fame, have come together to express our thanks for what we have, hope that you are enjoying the fruits of your labor and to wish that the contentiousness of 2009 fades away into a more peaceful 2010.


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Doctors do it, why don’t lawyers?

Doctors, like lawyers, have little or no business education in medical/law school. Today’s Wall Street Journal  (Education for Executives) discusses doctors journey back to school (business) in order to learn skills that were omitted from their medical education. They need these skills in order to run their medical practices, medical groups and hospitals.

Doctors outreach for management training demonstrates a recent shift in thinking: "…we are much more similar to other businesses that we are different." Taking the business side of medicine more seriously can benefit not only doctors, but also patients, a fact slowly being understood in the medical profession.

Why is it that doctors are ahead of lawyers in this understanding? Why is it that medical schools are incorporating management principles into their teaching and few, if any, law schools do? Why is it that lawyers continue to be reactive, rather than be proactive? Worse still, why is it that lawyers fail to react to their clients wishes?  Bar disciplinary proceedings continue to show that more than 50% of clients’ complaints relate to poor management practices. Why?


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Second Photo Caption Contest!

Welcome to the second LawBiz® photo caption contest! The first contest was such a success, so I thought I’d host another. And, since Bandit was so popular before, he has once again become the subject of the photo. Be creative, be serious, be funny – post whatever you think the caption for this photo should be!

 

At the end of the contest period, we’ll choose a winner who will receive a FREE LawBiz® Media Pack, including my Small Firm Logistics 3-CD set and my Exit Strategy DVD, as well as a FREE ½ hour consultation with me.

 

There are a few rules to this contest, so please take note:

  • No more than five (5) entries may be submitted per person. Limit of one (1) per day.
  • Entries should be submitted as comments and must include e-mail addresses.
  • Entries must be received by 5pm PST on Friday, December 18, 2009 to be considered.
  • No lewd language or vulgarities. Such language will disqualify entry and will be removed by the administrator.
  • Have fun!

A winner will be picked by Monday, January 4, 2010 and announced here on the blog. Good luck!

 


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Credit lines dry up – Law firms impacted

It’s reported in today’s Los Angeles Business Journal that SBA loans have evaporated. “Banks really are stingy…” is the headline. Small Business Administration guaranteed loans, funded by banks, have fallen by 53% from the 2008 level, a year in which the number of loans also decreased from the preceding year.  This is further evidence that banks’ credit for business and for real estate ventures has been dried up.  With TAARP money going to make financial institutions healthier rather than a stated purpose of loosening credit strings to jump start employment and business activity, the financial executives just don’t get it.  They wonder why Main Street is upset with them as they sit back and take large bonuses; if they also were to spend the funds to help as intended, I suspect the American people would not be so upset. Also, in U.K. where there will be a 50% tax on bonuses. Wow.  Wake up Wall Street and bankers before we tumble backward …

Law firms seeking either an extension or increase in their lines of credit are walking in this same environment. It’s tricky, at best, and possibly disastrous. Creating and enhancing a good working relationship with your banker is even more critical in these times. That’s the point I make in my book, The Successful Lawyer Client Relationship: A LawBiz Special Report. Just as lawyers are being told to create a “partnership” with clients, so, too, they should create a “partnership” with their banker. This will pay dividends.


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