What can law firms do to interact with their clients more effectively? In today’s clip, Ed will share a few ideas, such as developing a checklist of questions and creating surveys that will address this issue.
Ed explains the best methods to ensure client payment.
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®
THE WORKFLOW PROCESS
Law firms must acknowledge the changes and adopt the better changes to the workflow process to remain competitive.
* Be more sensitive to client costs
* Be more aware and have a better understanding of your client’s business
CONTROLLING OVERHEAD
Reducing small expenditures will add up to a significant savings
Keep overhead to a minimum while maintaining efficiency.
Be prepared for the eventual increase in business after the economic rebound.
HIRING AND RETAINING TALENT
Advancement will be based on merit instead of seniority
It is critical to provide CLE to top talent to retain them.
Compensation will always be a part of retaining top talent. Plan ahead for this necessity.
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Ed Poll discusses the effect that the new reality or the consumer market and the corporate market have on the legal profession.
Consumer Market
~The consumer market includes divorce law, personal injury law and debt collection.
~The consumer market is more commodity based; more standardized; therefore more cost sensitive than other practice areas.
Corporate Market
General Council have become more sensitive to total legal costs due to pressure from CFOs and CEOs.
~Corporations are cutting back on the number of firms handling their business in an effort to control costs.
~The conversions factor is pressuring outside firms to become more efficient
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Ed discusses what does and doesn’t change about the business model for lawyers.
A few weeks ago, Ed competed in the cycling events at the Senior Olympics. Today, Ed reflects on how that experience relates to his professional life and the Business of Law.
In this technology-driven age, a lot of lawyers’ work can be moved online. Today Ed discusses the virtualization of law offices to help you consider whether or not that move makes sense for you.
I wrote recently about the great chasm between lawyer supply and demand for legal services. I suggested that this is an age-old problem only because many lawyers are courting a very small market segment, the large companies of the world. The bulk of the consuming public has less ability to pay but still great need. And the Bar hasn’t yet figured out how to incentivize lawyers to serve this need.
But perhaps the real issue is not so much the supply, but rather the lack of service provided by lawyers. The following several instances were reported to me from one who had repeated unpleasant interactions with lawyers. It’s a shame that she had more than one such experience, but most people can identify with what happened to her.
"When we needed an immigration attorney," she says, "only one returned our calls of inquiry from the several my husband called locally. When we were looking for a lawyer for wills and other family matters recently, only one was interested in the bread and butter stuff we needed addressed." She continues by making the further observation, "Instead of using a lawyer, we used a ‘non-lawyer’ for our house sale; she was very efficient." She concludes that "… as consumers, we see the ‘lawyer’ crisis differently!."
Lawyers get a bad rap deservedly in too many instances!
Today Ed revisits a topic he discussed a few months ago. This week’s clip will have you consider answer 2 important questions: What can you gain by hiring a new person, and how much will it cost?
You’ve collected the data and learned about your market and now you want to raise your fee. Ed shares some advice on when you might consider raising your fee.