How to Hurt California’s Lawyers: Mandatory Malpractice Insurance Disclosure
The unusual "How To" theme of this month’s column addresses a vital issue for all California lawyers. The State Bar of California has sought public comment on a proposed rule of professional conduct and rule of court that would require all attorneys to make disclosure to their clients when they do not have professional liability (malpractice) insurance. (more…)
Ed Wesemann, a very able consultant and partner in the legal consulting firm of Edge International, wrote that “…Improving profitability is tough. For most firms, culling small clients represents a relatively easy first step.”
The suggestion that law firms “cull” 10% of their clients each year … or that they “fire” their small clients … rattles my very bones when I hear this. So long as the work being done for clients is profitable or can effectively be used as a training ground for new lawyers, there is reason to continue to retain this business.
Rates on students’ loans increase, effective Saturday, July 1st.
According to USA Today, some students will take their entire professional careers to repay the loans. The rates will increase from 4.75% to as high as 7.14%. Some will refinance their loans; others will pay them off (if they can); and the others will be saddled with almost twice the interest cost!
Without the loans, the students would not complete their education. And we wouldn’t have their talent.
Yet, listening to some of them talk, it seems as though they feel entitled to a reduction or elimination of the obligation, an obligation they voluntarily took on for themselves.
Not all of these students get employed with top firms with large salaries. What will happen to the others? How and when will they deal with this debt, a debt that might be as large as $500,000 for some who go on to graduate school?
We have not had experience with this before. How our country will deal with this issue may impact the way legal services are delivered … and who delivers them.
The 2nd Circuit panel of Judges Guido Calabresi, Jose A. Cabranes and Richard C. Wesley, in McDonald v. Pension Plan, cv-05-1435, 1630, 1749, 4140, 4288, vacated a lower court’s attorney fee award on the grounds that the lower court inappropriately applied a blended rate to a sole practitioner’s fee application. (more…)
ROI, return on investment, is an important issue in measuring both the value and merit of any business task. When it comes to blogging, it is a much more difficult task for many reasons. But, the discussion is beginning.
And Debbie Weil has written books on the subject … Check it out.
411 Information Charges:
Phone companies are charging us $1.00 or more for 411 / information calls when there is little justification, other than their desire to make more moeny. Remember when there was no charge?
When you want to use the 411 / information option, without cost to you, simply dial 1-800-FREE-411 or 1 800 373-3411!
Howard Putnam, former CEO of Southwest Airlines and author of Winds of Turbulence, introduces our newest publication: The Lawyer Banker Relationship: A LawBiz Management Special Report. He says …
For years, I have refused to sign the back of my credit card. The exemplar would give a thief my signature which could then be copied on other documents.
Today, I received a listing of tips from my bank about personal security … AND they agree with me. Don’t sign the back of your credit card. Instead, write “Photo ID Required.”
Other tips:
1. When you check out of a hotel that uses cards for room keys, do not return the “keys”! Take them with you and destroy them. Those key cards contain all of the information you gave the hotel, including address, credit card numbers and expiration dates! Someone with a card reader, or an employee of the hotel, can access all that informatin with no problem whatsoever!
2. When writing a check to pay for your credit card account, write only the last 4 digits on your check, not the complete account number.
3. Never put your social security number on a check. If anything, only the last 4 digits.
4. Make a copy of all documents and cards that are in your wallet; keep the copies in a safe place. Should you lose your wallet, you will know exactly what was lost and who to contact.
5. If credit cards or checks are stolen, do the following:
a. Cancel your cards or checks immediately;
b. File a police report in the jurisdiction where lost/stolen;
c. Call the 3 national credit reporting agencies to place “fraud alerts” on your name and social security number:
Equifax: (800) 525-6285
Experian: (888) 397-3742
TransUnion: (800) 680-7289
SS Admin
(fraud line) (800) 269-0271
In an article entitled, “There’s still gold in them there pinstripes,” USA Today reports on a recent American Lawyer survey.
The average profit per partner at the nation’s 100 largest law firms passed the $1 million mark for the first time last year, with the top 10 firms booking profit per partner of $2 million or more. (more…)
April 18, 2006
Venice, CA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Andrea Goldman said, “I walked away from Ed’s seminar (last year) with numerous new … ideas. I was energized and eager to start implementing his suggestions.”
Ed Poll is a leading authority in the field of law practice management and the Principal of LawBiz Management Co., a firm that consults with and coaches lawyers and law firms throughout the United States, Mexico, and England. Poll is a Board Approved (SAC��) Coach to the Legal Profession.
For more information, contact The South Carolina Bar Continuing Legal Education Division in Columbia, SC at www.scbar.org/clecalendar or call (803) 771-0333 or (800) 768-7787; Ed Poll at edpoll@lawbiz.com or call (800) 837-5880; also, please see http://www.lawbiz.com and http://www.lawbizblog.com. He is the author of several best-selling books on the topics of law practice management, including, Selling Your Law Practice (http://lawbiz.com) and the most recently released Business Competency for Lawyers: A LawBiz Management Special Report.
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