Think Before Jumping Ship
In this segment, Ed discusses considerations you must make if you plan on leaving your firm, whether willingly or not.
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In this segment, Ed discusses considerations you must make if you plan on leaving your firm, whether willingly or not.
Ed recognizes that raising your legal fees just doesn’t "fly". This week, he offers some tips to raise the revenue of your firm without necessarily raising your fees.
Ed advises understanding what you want to do with the second season of your life.
Ed offers 5 ways to increase your law firm’s revenue.
1. Emphasize collections.
2. Hire lateral lawyers to meet specific demands, a new practice area, a new need.
3. Leverage technology.
4. Create a cooperative compensation model that emphasizes the law firm as an institution.
5. Outsource functions that are better done by others. Delegate.
Ed discusses how to estimate future costs by listing your assumptions.
Most clients don’t complain about hourly rates; they complain about the totality of their legal costs. In order to control legal costs, one help is budgets.
How to estimate future costs: List your assumptions and make sure the client understands these and also provide for change-orders if any of these assumptions prove to be erroneous. That’s how you keep the costs down and that’s how you keep the client satisfied.
Ed discusses the factors that influence collection success. Client selection: you have to get the right client. You must understand the wants and the needs of the client. You have to get confirmation of the arrangement between you and the client in writing, and check the client’s credit.
Ed talks about creating a bond with the client to achieve client loyalty because your revenue is a perishable commodity.
Ed notes that poor client service is responsible for 63% of clients leaving their law firm.
The real reason that clients refer their law firms is because they are satisfied with the service they receive. Good client service is responsible for about 46+% of all referrals.
Ed talks about lawyers who provide solutions and who communicate effectively and often with their clients.