In a recent blog post, I suggested that it was o.k. for lawyers to seek profit. One justification that I didn’t suggest, however, becomes very clear when you look at state bars disciplinary reports: Clients’ trust accounts are invaded by economically marginal lawyers (exclude out and out theft from this discussion, a rare event). Thus, when we encourage lawyers to be business-wise, we are actually seeking to protect the public.
Being effective with clients, efficient in the delivery of services to clients and therefore more profitable, we are actually protecting the public by providing sufficient resources to the lawyer to feed his/her family and therefore have no need to invade the trust account funds.
To say that law is a business, a service business, is not to deny that it is also a profession rooted in the highest ideals from the very beginning of our country. (more…)
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Tom Kane asks us to do something which most of us can’t: " … Think about the unique legal features your practice offers clients … "
Lawyers have a very difficult time truly understanding what we (lawyers) provide to clients. Clearly, this is not easy for most of us. Saying "we provide solutions" is not sufficient.
Because of this, it is difficult to differentiate ourselves from the other 1 million lawyers in this country! As the legal profession matures and lawyers come to fully understand the business-like qualities of professional service providers, being able to state the differentiation in ways clients understand may be one key to economic survival.
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Blogs by and for lawyers have arrived, or said slightly differently, have reached the "tipping point." After all, if the establishment, American Bar Association, can create a directory of blog/blawgs, right on the home page of its Journal, then we’ve arrived. And, I’m pleased to say that LawBiz Blog has received mention in this listing.
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Thanks to a note from David Abeshouse, here is a brief comment from the president of the State Bar of New York:
" … In Alexander v. Cahill, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York analyzed the lawyer advertising and solicitation rules adopted by the Appellate Division of Supreme Court effective February 1, 2007. The Court upheld many of the rules, but did find some portions unconstitutional as protected free speech under the First Amendment. The decision is available online at www.nysba.org/AttyAdvCourtDecision. … "
New York Bar committees will review the issues further in light of the Court decision and, thus, the rules are still in flux.
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In a recent article, I read a new reason given for why lawyers hate marketing and can’t "sell"! Larry Richard, a Ph.D. psychologist, J.D. and consultant, suggests that lawyers have little or no "resiliency." That’s why they cannot sell. (more…)
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Harry Beckwith is a lawyer. He knows about Selling the Invisible, and maintains that it is far more difficult to sell what we can’t see!
Join me in our next West LegalEdcenter teleseminar on July 18th — 11 a.m. PT / 2 p.m. ET.
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The president of Whole Foods recently revealed that he blogs! Not only does he blog with attribution to himself as CEO of his company, he also blogs under a pseudonym. Under the pseudonym, he failed to disclose his position; he used this blog to make false assertions about the financial condition of a primary competitor, Wild Oats Markets. (more…)
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Alan Weiss, noted management consultant, said that "… marketing is the creation of need, and selling is the providing of an alternative to meet the need. If your marketing is strong enough in professional services—in other words, you create strong brands—selling is unnecessary because the buyer already wants you. He or she is convinced that you fill the need. That’s true brand equity." (more…)
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Kevin O’Keefe relates a story about a student who got a job right out of law school in a 150 lawyer firm merely by blogging! A new way to show one’s smarts!
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Evan brings to light a new product. It’s not a substitute for law school, but certainly places law school in a new light. Coincidentally, I saw this “Law School in a Box” last evening at Borders Bookstore for the first time. It is intriguing.
It shows the creativity of this young Philadelphia lawyer. My hat’s off in admiration for what, based on the book store’s display, is quite likely to be a very successful venture and great marketing ploy.
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