Legal Ease Blog

The Busy Lawyer's Guide to Success

The Busy Lawyer’s Guide to Success - Essential Tips to Power Your Practice by Dan Pinnington and Reid F. Trautz is one of the ABA Law Practice Management section’s newest books. This book is only 132 pages long, but it is packed with powerful insights and tips for your practice. It’s small enough to fit into any lawyer's bag or briefcase and it belongs in every one.

An easy read, the book is broken up into sections and provides short, to the point statements that can be implemented easily and effectively. If you choose one section (or even one page), take the tips to heart and take action, you’ll see a difference in your practice.

If you’ve ever attended ABA Techshow, you know that the ’60 tips’ sessions are among the most popular and well-attended sessions in all of Techshow. This book is like an extended version of one of those lightning-fast tips sessions. It’s broken down into these essential sections:

• Client Service
• Marketing and Client Development
• Technology
• Coping with Email (it’s such a pain it needs a chapter all its own)
• Making (More) Money
• Ethics & Professionalism
• Management, Operations and Staff
• Strategy and Planning

Yes, the book is short. It’s written that way on purpose. The authors, busy, active lawyers themselves, know how valuable a lawyer's time is. They know you don’t want a big heavy book that you aren’t going to have time to read anyway. They’ve dispensed with long explanations and extra verbiage and distilled the book and each of their tips down to its core. The result? You get a book filled with just the ‘good stuff.’ You don’t need to search it out – it’s there on every page. For those of you that want more, they’ve included a Learning More section which points you in the direction of other resources on these topics.

Creating a book that’s comprised just of those golden nuggets undoubtedly took an awful lot of editing. It’s often easier to write something long than it is to write something short, because the short takes more editing. Your words need to be more precise. So if you’re wondering whether this ‘little’ book is worth the ‘big’ price, think about how much time (which, unfortunately, for most of you still translates into billable hours) these two guys saved you by giving you only the good stuff.

Still don’t believe me? Perhaps this will entice you:

• Check out pages 25-28 for a step by step individual marketing plan that you can start working on today.

• To find out which are your highest and lowest value clients, use the client report card found on Page 65.

• Learn how to conduct productive meetings by incorporating tips from pages 94-96 and 102-105.

You can get your copy of the book through the ABA ($69.95 for non-members, $44.95 for LPM members), or you can pre-order it from Amazon.com for $44.07, but it isn’t available yet.

More on Work/Life Balance for Lawyers

I recently posted about work/life balance in "It's more important than ever for lawyers to 'Get a Life.'" Now, an update.

The ABA Journal Law News Now posted an online article entitled, "Are We Closing the Book on Work/Life Balance?" picking up on Jordan Furlong's post on Law 21: The legacy of work-life balance.

Furlong notes that although work-life balance (or WLB) was 'all the rage' only a few short years ago, the economy may be signaling the end of the WLB movement. He says:

Most lawyers seeking WLB were really seeking an answer to the question: “Does a legal career have to be all-consuming and exhausting?” ... 

The whole thing got wrapped up too often in buzzwords like “personal fulfillment,” “family time,” and WLB, but what it really came down to was lawyers’ rational response to market conditions. They had a chance to get more rewards for their time and effort — unfortunately, many of them chose those rewards in $160,000 annual packages.

...

Where proponents of “work-life balance” went off-track, to my mind, was that they argued the duty to ensure a satisfactory proportion between a lawyer’s work and the rest of her life was an institutional responsibility — that it was up to the law firm, basically. The  firms disagreed, and all they had to do was wait for the marketplace to turn their way to make that clear.

...

The thing is, “work-life balance” is a lawyer’s personal choice and responsibility. If money and “prestige” are that important to you, you’ll sign up to work 3,000 hours a year at a law firm, and you can reap the rewards and suffer the personal consequences accordingly.

Furlong goes on to say that one of the problems is that the 'unspoken symbiosis between law schools and law firms - the law schools charge large sums for legal education but provide little or no practical training, resulting in newly-minted lawyers with large indebtedness but low skills. These lawyers are then hired by big firms who can offer high salaries that will allow students to make a dent in their loans, and provide training - often requiring endless hours of work.

I don't believe that the most proponents of WLB looked at it as an entitlement that law firms were obligated to provide, or that a lucrative, prestigious legal career and a personally fulfilling life are mutually exclusive. What WLB seeks is for all lawyers - as a profession - to tackle the issues facing members of the profession. It is clear that the demands of the profession as it exists currently have resulted in an increase in lawyer dissatisfaction, alcoholism, depression and other ills.

For some lawyers, WLB has been wrongfully interpreted as an entitlement mentality or as a euphamism for laziness and an aversion to working hard or providing excellent client experience. I couldn't disagree more, as I noted in my previous post. Indeed, WLB is all about being a professional and providing a professional level of service to clients, creating a lucrative legal career and a healthy personal life. A tall order? Perhaps, but that doesn't mean it's impossible - although many of the current 'norms' in the legal profession make it so.

Being harnessed to the billable hour, which reduces a lawyer's value to the hours logged, rather than to the solutions and service provided to clients, is one such 'norm' that needs serious change. Billable hours are a rather unprofessional measure of worth - certainly not one that acknowleges lawyers as knowledge workers.

But as noted in many of the comments to Jordan's post, WLB isn't just a debate about billable hours and going home early. Lawyers need opportunities for professional growth and development, intellectual stimulation, collegiality, and personal time - and they need them not just for themselves, but for the good of the firms and clients, too.

As noted in my previous post on this issue, in order to be intellectually challenged, to come to work with your best foot forward and to provide your clients with the excellent service they deserve, you've got to have balance in your life. Healthy lawyers do better work for their clients and their firms. Lawyers who are supported personally and professionally by their firms will do better work for those firms and are likely to be more loyal to those firms. Stressed out, angry, unfulfilled lawyers who are battling personal issues at home (or worse, who are unable to develop strong personal relationships outside of the office) aren't likely to be particularly effective.

In an article entitled, Situation re-evaluation:creating balance, author Kate DeBevois cites a 2009 study of over 50,000 global workers which indicates that employees who feel they have achieved work-life balance work, on average, 21 percent harder than employees who feel they have not achieved work-life balance.  And, as professional organizer and life coach Dorothy Breininger notes in the same article, "Where there’s difficulty in one area of life, chances are, it will show up in most areas of life.” 

While big firms may not be willing to make changes in this regard (particularly in this economy, when they feel their associates are just lucky to have jobs), clients may demand it. And firms that want to continue to attract top talent - both from law schools and laterally - will need to address these issues, since top talent will always have other options and opportunities. When clients defect in larger numbers to smaller firms and lawyers defect to smaller firms or solo practices - or even larger firms that are committed to innovation, creativity, professional development AND work/life balance, perhaps the big firms will finally see the light.

Furlong says, "What we were groping towards, under the banner of WLB, was the gnawing sense that most everyone starts their legal career behind the eight-ball for no particularly good reason." But WLB issues are limited to younger lawyers. While the issues Furlong cites may be the WLB issues faced by newer lawyers in large firms, the majority of lawyers in the U.S. are solo practitioners or work in small firms. Work/life balance issues affect all lawyers, regardless of the length of their experience or the size of their practice.

Furlong concludes his post saying,  "There are still some serious institutional problems for our profession to resolve — dealing with them openly and effectively would be the kind of legacy “work-life balance” deserves." Only too true - which is why it isn't time to 'close the book' on work-life balance yet.

(Hat tip to Kevin Chern of Total Attorneys, for pointing out the DeBevois article).

How lawyers can 'bulletproof' their best clients

Gerry Riskin gave two separate presentations at this year's Get a Life conference. His pearls of wisdom were invaluable.

According to Riskin, studies show that only 30.7% of clients recommend their primary law firm. That leaves a lot of room for client poaching - and it means that the vast majority of clients aren't referring others to their lawyers.

Competition in the legal arena is fierce. Competitors can draw clients away from you by creating a 'cool offering,' listening to clients, understanding and meeting their needs, caring & showing they care, being responsive and handling problems. If you're not already doing the same, you're vulnerable. Identify and 'bulletproof' your best clients by meeting them at their place of business for the purpose of discovering and meeting the client's needs (off the clock!).

Riskin reminds lawyers that latent client needs can only be unearthed through active collaboration with the client - you'll never know unless you're constantly working with and listening to your clients.

Unfortunately, although most lawyers are good at getting the substantive legal work done, they aren't as successful at completing 'non-billable' work - including important business development and client relationship work. But the good news is that it doesn't take much to change that. According to Riskin's "slight edge" theory, the difference between winners and losers is action - but it only takes marginal moves to be a winner. In other words, you need to be only slightly better, but consistently so.

Finally, Riskin noted that lawyers think differently than other people - which doesn't always work to their advantage. They are perfectionists. Lawyers need to learn that it's OK to make mistakes - they need to TRY things that aren't going to work.

It is only through trial and error - taking action - that real progress can be made.

At the end of one of his presentations, there were some questions about what lawyers should do when they practice in an area which is generally comprised of 'one time' clients. Lawyers often make the mistake of thinking that a client is a one-time client, in part because they fail to identify those latent client needs and fail to establish long term relationships with them.  Kevin Chern of Total PMA pointed out that 'one time' clients don't have to be. I agree - and I wrote about it in a post entitled "There's No Such Thing as a "One-Off" Client.

 

Poor Client Service is Easy to Find

Recently, attorney Leanna Hamill related the following tale about bad client experience:

I'm having the rather unfortunate experience of having to interview and select realtors to sell my dad's house (anyone wanting to buy a fixer-upper on the ocean in beautiful Scituate, MA. let me know).

I spent half the day on Monday at the house showing the realtors around. One of them went on and on about her own house and her own cottage and wasn't going to be able to start showing it until the end of June because she had family visiting and then they had an open house for "1.5 million, so we really need to take care of that one."  Then when she emails me first she calls me "Deanna" and in her next email she calls me "Leanne."

One company had a horribe gruff person answering the phone, so I didn't even use them.

Leanna's Tips based on her experience:

Tip #1: Don't make your potential client feel like the rest of your life is more important than she is (even though it is.)

Tip #2: Don't make your potential client feel like their case will get less attention because of the size of it.

Tip #3: Have someone good answering your phone. 

Tip #4: Get your [potential] client's name right!

Bad client service stories like Leanna's are far too easy to find. But the good news is that since client service is universally so bad, it should be relatively easy for you to create an excellent client service by using some common sense. It only takes small steps and little touches to make a difference (as my previous client service story indicates). As Gerry Riskin says, it's the 'slight edge' theory - you only have to be marginally better than the competition to have the edge (stay tuned for a post later this week with more advice from Gerry Riskin from the Get a Life conference).

Given the abysmal client service that's the norm, how hard would it be to gain the edge in client service?

Want to learn more about client service? Take a look at this post about value and client service, as well as this one about caring for your clients.

It's more important than ever for lawyers to "Get a Life"

As many of you already know, I was in Chicago last week for the first annual Total Practice Management Association "Get a Life" (TM) conference. This month's Lawyer Meltdown Newsletter included a recap of some tips from the conference speakers, and I'll be posting more of them on the blog in the next week or so.

The purpose of the conference, as well as the Total Practice Management Association's new magazine, Total Balance, (which you can get for free) was to teach lawyers ways to achieve greater work/life balance. If you look at the roster of speakers and programs from the event and the conference recap, you'll realize that work/life balance doesn't mean not working hard or not taking the business of law seriously - in fact, it's just the opposite.

I firmly believe that in order to be intellectually challenged, to come to work with your best foot forward and to provide your clients with the excellent service they deserve, you've got to have balance in your life.

But work/life balance doesn't just have one meaning that's universal to everyone. For some, it can be working long hours doing something they're passionate about. For others, balance comes by defining your priorities and focusing on what you love and what you do best, outsourcing the rest. For others, balance is achieved through flexible work schedules, and technological advances. Still others achieve balance by focusing their marketing and their practice only on the highest value clients. And of course, work/life balance also means determining your personal priorities and incorporating those into your life - whether through your practice or outside of your practice.

Yesterday, I came across an article in Law.com entitled, "Are Today's Lawyers Stretched Too Far?" by Susan Beck of The American Lawyer. The article begins by talking about tough times faced by big law firms, and the depression and even suicides that have resulted from recent layoffs and firm restructuring. Beck notes that the current law firm model is not sustainable, either financially or practically. She says, "Expecting lawyers to devote every ounce of their energy to their firm and its clients is not sustainable."

So what is the alternative? I've heard some lawyers from large firms commenting that one 'bright spot' in the economic downturn is that the lawyers who still have jobs won't be 'whining about work/life balance any more; they'll just be glad to be working.' I couldn't disagree more.

Work/life balance is even more important now, when financial pressures are mounting, client expectations are increasing, budgets are being scrutinized, and some workloads have increased due to under-staffing. And again - clients are better served by lawyers who are committed and focused, which necessarily means that those lawyers are taking care of themselves, too.

Beck suggests that it's time to, "knock [lawyers] out of the daily grind, to get [them]to stop, look around and think." Hopefully, focus on these issues - including conferences like "Get a Life" will help lawyers to do that. 

If you'd like to see the conference recap from my newsletter, you can get it here. While you're there, subscribe to the newsletter - next month's issue will include some lessons learned from all of the conferences I've attended over the past year.

Need help defining your priorities or structuring your firm for better balance? Contact me to see how I can help.

Help Clients Perceive the Value of Your Service by Serving Them In Unexpected Ways

Take a look at this post from Scott Gibson of the law firm Gibson Ferrin Riggs on new blog BiziBoom.com about Harry Beckwith's book, What Clients Love: A Field Guide to Growing Your Business. I highly recommend Beckwith's books, which also include Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing. As I mentioned in a previous post about planning, Beckwith's books are easy to read and chock full of advice that you can begin implementing immediately. Gibson recommends reading with highlighter in hand while asking yourself as you read how you can implement the ideas in your own practice - a suggestion worth implementing in itself.

One of the things I loved about the BiziBoom.com post was that Gibson not only read the book and implemented some of the ideas, but he passes the book along to his clients so that they can improve their  businesses. That kind of service creates a completely different relationship between you and your clients. It shows that you care about them beyond the individual matter you're handling for them.

What new ways can you think of to demonstrate your value to clients?

Gibson says, "[I]n selling services we must focus on helping the client perceive the value of the services.  Clients perceive value through their interactions with your company.  If you want your clients to understand that your services are valuable, help them see that value." One way to help your clients see the value of working with you is to provide them with an exceptional client experience that goes beyond the confines of the representation.

(Hat tip to Lance Godard for alerting me to this post via Twitter).

If you really care about your clients (and it shows), business will come

What's the best way to attract clients and build relationships with them that will last for the long term? Be passionate and committed to what you do and who you do it for.

This morning I read a fabulous post by lawyer Bob Kraft on a lawyer marketing list-serve, and right away, I knew it would be the subject of today's blog post. Bob is a fantastic lawyer and one of the most genuine people I know. I am happy to share his marketing wisdom with you (the emphasis is mine):

Remember that slick ads or a polished elevator speech can't take the place of a genuine love of your job and of your clients. Potential clients will be impressed with your attitude, no matter how rough your presentation might be. Don't spend all your time worrying about your marketing. Spend some time thinking about whether you really care about the work you do and the clients you represent. If the answer is no, find a different practice area.

It isn't often that you hear lawyers talk about how they feel about their clients, their practice, or the services they provide. But if you're not inspired, it's difficult to be committed to doing your best work, finding new solutions for your clients, and developing innovative ways to deliver your services.

Bob says that if you don't really care about the work you do, you should find a different practice area. But your practice area may not be the problem (or the only problem). Perhaps it is the clients you work with or the way you deliver your services that wears you down.

Three steps to putting the passion back in your practice:

1. To get started on finding your inspiration again, revisit the reasons you decided to become a lawyer. Are you helping the people you wanted to help? Are you working toward the goals you wanted to accomplish?

2. Focus on your strengths and ask yourself whether you use your strengths consistently in your practice. Are you able to use your skills and expertise to help others?

3. If you're still stuck, ask yourself what you hate most about your practice now, and why. Examine those statements and see whether they provide any clues about how you can change what you're doing, how you're doing it, or who you're doing it for so that you can enjoy your work more and create a more successful practice.

Need help finding your inspiration or redesigning your practice? Contact me to find out how I can help.

Do Something! Attend the Total PMA "Get a Life" (TM) Conference

I'll be participating in the Total PMA's "Get a Life" (TM) Conference next month,  Wednesday, May 27 and Thursday, May 28, 2009 in Chicago. I'm honored to have been asked to participate in the conference, which will focus on ways attorneys can create a successful law practice without losing themselves in the process. 

"Work-life balance" has been a big issue for lawyers in the past several years, and this conference will provide attendees with specific tips, tools and techniques from some of the leading experts in the legal world. 

Speakers who will be presenting at the conference include Gerry Riskin of Edge International, Kevin O'Keefe of LexBlog, Nancy Roberts Linder of Nancy Roberts Linder Consulting, Larry Bodine of Larry Bodine Marketing, Stephen Fairley of the Rainmaker Institute, and Alexis Martin Neely of Law Business Revolution, among others.

Topics that will be covered at the conference include:

• The importance of work/life balance;

• Creating and maintaining professional online relationships;

• The use of blogging and social media to enhance your practice;

• Building effective business development plans;

• Achieving fast, effective results from your marketing efforts;

• Effective and innovative billing practices;

• Getting the most of out on-demand document management;

• Insights on outsourcing;

And more.

In addition to the conference sessions themselves, there will be networking opportunities and great social events.

I'm looking forward to the conference, and I hope that you'll be able to join me. For a two day conference with this many great speakers, the Get a Life (TM) conference is already a great value -- but here's an insider's tip for Legal Ease blog readers:

You can get 25% off of the registration fee for the program here:

Link:  http://www.gifttool.com/registrar/ShowEventDetails?ID=1789&EID=4032

Promo Code: Enter INSIDER upon check-out

Want more information? Check out the Total PMA Get A Life (TM) Conference site.

Effectively dealing with difficult client situations

Let's face it - sometimes it's difficult dealing with clients, particularly when you have to tell them something you know they don't want to hear, or when a client has a complaint.

Often, conflicts arise because clients feel you don't understand their point of view. It's easy to forget that clients - even business clients - have an emotional investment in their legal matter. To you, it may be just another case. But to the client, it's their life, their livelihood, or their business.

When those difficult or uncomfortable client conversations arise, how can you handle them?

Mirror the client's thoughts. Let the client tell you what the issue is, and then reflect it back to the client. This way, the client knows they're being heard, and you ensure that you understand their issue.

Focus on the client. The key to resolution is concentrating on the client's feelings and the client's desired outcome, rather than focusing on yourself or on the work that you have to do. For example, if a client asks for something in a rush, respond by acknowledging the client's sense of urgency and how it affects their goals - not by telling them how much work you have to do or why what they're asking is impossible.

Acknowledge the client's feelings. You don't have to agree, but there's no sense in arguing with how a client feels. Acknowledging a client's feelings by saying something like, "I can tell that you're upset about this" will begin to defuse the situation.

Let clients know that they're not alone. If this particular problem is a common one, or many clients are frustrated by the same thing, tell the client as a way to validate what they are feeling. Even better, if you have had a similar experience and can talk to the client about your own feelings and reactions in their situation.

Work toward a resolution based on where you are now. Once the client is calmer and you've acknowledged them, you can begin to gather information that can help you to reach a solution. Offer the client options for resolution, even if you can't meet their specific demand.

Focus on the positive. Instead of saying no or telling a client what you can't do and why, tell them what you can do. Explain the options in terms of the client's goals (i.e. because I know that you don't want to drag this litigation out..." or "Since you want to keep costs down..."

Don't retreat or get defensive - it only escalates the confrontation.

Lay the groundwork for bad news - and go slowly. Resist the urge to just 'get it over with' by blurting out the bad news all at once. When you know the client isn't going to be happy about what you have to tell them, start out by acknowledging the client's desired outcome or goals, introduce what you are going to discuss, or explan that there are a number of different strategies that can be employed to move forward with their matter. Be sure to give the client reasons for those options and for what occurred. After you've delivered the bad news, let the client know that you empathize with their position.

Know your boundaries and set limits. Often confrontations arise when the unexpected occurs. You can reduce many common difficult client situations by being prepared and setting boundaries at the outset of the engagement. Clients who can't abide by your processes or boundaries will often self-identify themselves, offering you the opportunity to explore the situation before a confrontation occurs or the chance to decline the representation. There's no reason to tolerate an abusive client!

Get help. While these suggestions may seem simple, they're not always easy to implement. Working with a coach or getting some client service training can help you develop the skills necessary to handle difficult client situations.

Do you have tips for handling difficult client situations? Share them by posting a comment!

Are you brave enough to let your clients set your fees?

The April/May 2009 Law Practice magazine, a publication of the American Bar Association, focuses on innovation. "Running Ahead of the Pack: Trailblazers in the Law Firm World," by Steven Taylor, profiles law firms taking new approaches to client service, partnerships, hiring and more. The first two firms profiled in the piece, Summit Law Group of Seattle, Washington and Exemplar Law Partners each provide service guarantees to clients in the form of fee adjustments.

Summit Law Group's contracts with clients include a 'value-adjustment line' encouraging clients to adjust the bills either up or down as the client sees fit, based upon the client's perception of the value of the legal work performed for them. Exemplar Law Partners uses a value based billing model and provides clients with a guarantee; if clients feel they did not receive value commensurate with the fee paid, Exemplar's guarantee ensures that a fair price will be negotiated with the client.

Both of these firms have used guarantees for a number of years and report that clients rarely or never take advantage of them.

Lawyers: Are you prepared to offer a similar guarantee to your clients, essentially allowing them to set the fee for the services you provide, or to adjust the fee based upon their perception of the value of the services that you provided to them? And if not, why not? 

Lawyers that are not prepared to offer such guarantees may not be confident in the value they provide to clients. Alternatively, they may not be confident that their clients see the value in the services they provide - particularly when the outcome is outside of the control of the lawyer or is not what the client was hoping for. But if you're not confident that your client sees the value of the services you provide, where is the disconnect? Are you failing to articulate value to the client in terms the client can understand, or are you working with the wrong clients?