In many states, the practical skills concerning “The Business of Law”® that lawyers most need to keep their practices profitable and problem free – training in effective client service and law practice management techniques – either are not covered or actively eliminated as legitimate MCLE credits.They also happen to be skills that no law school faculty offers either.In fact, in conversations I’ve had with educators, their view of law as a profession means that any such programs about effective client communication are trade-oriented and therefore inappropriate for law schools.The result was described several years ago in The Wall Street Journal by the publisher of the New York Law School Law Review, who observed that law school students are “reading about the law rather than engaging in it,” with the result that “when they graduate, young lawyers rarely know how to interview clients, advocate for their positions, negotiate a settlement or perform any number of other tasks that lawyers do every day.”
Tom O’Leary is the owner of The Attorneys ATM, a marketing and advertising firm based in Cincinnati, OH and the author of How to Dominate Google, Yahoo and MSN. In the past decade, he has assisted more than 400 small and medium sized businesses with their marketing strategies, with a focus on leveraging the Internet to increase revenue.
This is an easy thirty-minute read for any busy lawyer on the go. You’ll learn Ed’s A to Z basics for managing and running a successful law business without getting into too many nitty-gritty details, numbers, and long examples.
From managing your cash flow and collections process to weighing the ROI of your technology purchases, this 20-page Special Report will give you the essentials on how to make more profitable decisions concerning every part of your law business. You’ll also see the hidden costs hurting your bottom line (for example, did you know that you waste $80,000 of billable time every year on email?). Case studies bring the valuable information in this book to life, making it a fun, fast read that will change your business overnight.
You’ll learn how to:
Follow the 5 Steps of Law Business Planning
Rate the profitability and performance of your practice
Manage your cash flow more effectively
Shorten your billing cycle
Get clients to pay more – and on time
Change your billing method so that clients don’t get sticker shock when they read their bill
Raise fees without any clients complaining
Understand the impact each client has on your business
Effectively balance your client portfolio so you never get stuck for cash when a heavy hitter leaves
“I think this book is a must read for any attorney who wants to achieve personal financial success in the practice of law. Many lawyers who are highly capable attorneys are not equipped to be financially successful but this book is a significant tool to change that. The book provides a foundation for further study of the business competencies a successful lawyer needs.” — RW, Minnesota
In this follow-up companion volume to Ed Poll’s highly praised first Secrets collection, you’ll learn how to be even more efficient, more effective and more profitable in your practice. You’ll get topflight tips for how to:
Collaborate with clients
Succeed in collecting your fees
Open your own law office
Maximize the return on your technology investment
Make the most of outsourcing services
Exceed your clients’ expectations
Fine-tune disaster and recovery planning
Build a Weblog strategy
Raise your rates
And a whole lot more
“You don’t see many stories about legal firms making change work! Help is on the way. Ed Poll’s book is a must read for any leader who wants to win at the great game of business!” – Terry Paulson, PhD, columnist, business speaker, and author of They Shoot Managers Don’t’ They?
“Law firms today are moving toward operating in a more businesslike fashion, rather than just as a group of professionals–and those that are truly businesslike will recognize that a key to responsible management is establishing a strong banking relationship. Importantly, banks are looking for profitable new niches so law firms and banks are natural allies in today’s competitive world.
… When you have the right relationship, a good banker will be creative in helping you become aware of opportunities to grow your business in ways you didn’t know existed. The practical steps that Ed Poll provides in this little volume cover everything from how to choose a bank that’s right for you, to how to improve your credit score and how to negotiate the best commercial loan to meet your needs. ….
This LawBiz® Special Report is a must-read if you want to take your law firm to a higher plateau”
— Howard Putnam, Former CEO of Southwest Airlines and Braniff Airlines
Every law firm is a business, and every business has three common elements: Get the work; do the work; and get paid. This publication shows you how these issues intersect and guides you through an integrated approach to growing your practice and your profits—while simultaneously adding value to your billings and services. The vital concepts in realizing new value include:
Engagement agreement essentials for lawyer and client
Easy-to-understand pricing methods that convey meaning to clients
Collection strategies that secure prompt payments
Compensation policies that serve the firm’s best interests
“There is a reason Ed Poll has enjoyed longstanding success as a coach and consultant to lawyers–because he is the real deal. His Law Firm Fees & Compensation gives detailed information on how to incorporate value billing concepts in a practical and ethical manner, while giving clients certainty and transparency. And don’t let the title fool you–the book works equally well for solos.” — Carolyn Elefant, Author of Solo by Choice: How to Be the Lawyer You Always Wanted to Be
“Ed Poll’s new report is a must-read for all lawyers. It covers everything from alternatives to the billable hour and clients’ perceptions of value, to associate compensation, fee-splitting, collections, and trust accounts–all in one easy-to-read volume. This report is right in line with Poll’s emphasis on the business aspects of practicing law and is a comprehensive reference that lawyers are sure to return to again and again.” — Allison C. Shields, Esq., LegalEase Consulting
“In his new book, Law Firm Fees & Compensation: Value & Growth Dynamics, Edward Poll is determined to force lawyers to act like the business owners and operators they are. In the most practical terms, this means that “Failure to communicate often means failure to get paid.” This book outlines the ways this warning translates into law firm management, both internally and with clients.” — Michael Brychel, Senior Legal Auditor at Stuart Maue.
“We hear plenty of talk about the demise of the billable hour, but little substantive discussion about what method ought to replace it. Sure, there’s mention of alternatives like flat fee billing, hybrids and “value billing,” you don’t always find much “there there.” Plus, many non-lawyer advocates of value billing fail to account for our professional obligation to ensure that our fees are reasonable. That’s one reason why I’ve always been a fan of Ed Poll – he’s actually familiar with the code of professional responsibility and when he gives advice on fees, you can be confident that it will pass muster. He’s also big on substance, and his recent book (which I previewed), Law Firm Fees and Compensation, offers a detailed discussion on setting fees using a variety of methodologies. Poll also discusses retainer agreements, trust accounts and collecting fees. In short, he fully discusses the only two questions that matter when it comes to fees: How much should I charge, and how do I get paid? While the book does include some material suitable for larger firms, at least 85 percent of it is relevant to solo and small firm practitioners – and offers information that I’ve not seen elsewhere in such detail. In short, it’s a recommended read.” — Carolyn Elefant, MyShingle.com
Managing and accounting for client funds held in trust is a personal responsibility of the lawyer. Although there are a number of good computer software programs to assist with trust accounting, including QuickBooks by Intuit, the lawyer who receives clients’ trust funds bears all the responsibility of accounting for every penny. In an accounting sense, these funds are a liability of the law practice to the client, must be kept in an entirely separate account, and cannot be commingled with any other law firm funds. Recent challenges to the country’s banking system raise the specter of bank failures, with wide impact on the American public. Lawyers, for example are the subject of recent inquiries because of their IOLTA trust accounts.
A thought from Alan Weiss, consultant: “If Hollywood’s collective genius can create a $100 million film which flops at the box office, I don’t see reason to exactly beat yourself up if you choose a lousy vacation spot, cook a poor meal, or scratch the side of the car. Stuff happens. Get on with your life, and don’t let a momentary poor judgment create a lifelong depression.”
And in your law practice, the fact that you haven’t paid sufficient attention to “The Business of Law”® doesn’t’ mean you shouldn’t/can’t start now. Today is Labor Day, hopefully a day of rest for you … start tomorrow to work “on your business,” not just “in your business.” And build something of value (otherwise known as goodwill) that can be passed on to your family, your estate, when you’re ready to retire. You don’t have to just close the doors and walk away.
In response to my last post, the following comment was forwarded to me:
Q: Isn’t gaming what they teach in law school, essentially? Probing for weaknesses and exploiting them ruthlessly when found? It seems that with the adversarial legal system, gaming is built right into the DNA of the experience. I agree they are being poor ethical exemplars by gaming the rankings but I’m not sure it’s entirely inconsistent with the legal system.
The WSJ, August 26th, front page, discusses law school rankings … and the ability of school deans to "game" the system used by U.S. News & World Report to rank law schools. This reminds me of the accounting adage, "Figures don’t lie, but liars figure."
