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.

Systematize, Delegate and Outsource

Today's post focuses on more advice from speakers at this year's Total PMA Get a Life Conference, including advice from the panel on outsourcing, featuring Alexis Neely and Max Gardner and advice from Stephen Fairley about law firm systems and marketing because systems, delegation and outsourcing combine powerfully to make you and your firm more productive.

Outsourcing

When outsourcing, you must also consider security and confidentiality concerns. Make sure that those you hire to do work for you understand the attorney-client privilege and confidentiality issues. Have security in place so that outsourced work is protected.

The golden rule of outsourcing (from Alexis Neely):  Focus on what you love to do, what provides most value for your business, and what you're great at - outsource the rest.

Why use a virtual assistant? Max Gardner says that using virtual assistants eliminates concerns rabout benefits, vacations, payroll functions, while providing you with the extra hands to get the work done

Max Gardner also advises that, in his experience, a virtual assistant with no legal background is often better than someone who has worked for another firm. Usually, the other firm the assistant worked for doesn’t do things the same way you do. In addition, the assistant might have picked up some ‘bad habits’ from the former firm. Hiring someone with skills and the right attitude allows you to train them to provide the kind of work you want provided.

Be careful about the constraints you place on virtual assistants – you do not want them to become de facto employees. Become familiar with the rules regarding independent contractors and be sure that you are not over-stepping.

Alexis Neely recommends that if you have staff, you should get out of your office. If you’re in the office, it’s easy for your team to get lazy and just ask you to take care of things for them. But if you aren’t available, your team can often figure out the problem or issue and handle it on their own. If you want your team to rely on you less, freeing you up to do other things, make yourself scarce.

Why don’t more lawyers outsource work? I think that some resistance to outsourcing is just fear. Lawyers are afraid of change, of technology, and of the confidentiality issues. Sometimes they think that they’re better off just doing it on their own. Delegating effectively – whether within your firm or to others outside of your firm – is a skill. To learn how to delegate effectively see my posts on delegation: Do Something! Delegate Effectively, Even if You're a Solo and Do Something! How to Delegate Effectively (Part II).

Finally, Max Gardner recommends that you "Think INSIDE the box. Get things organized and systematized within your office."  And that leads us directly into Stephen Fairley’s presentation –

Create systems that will help you to grow your practice

Stephen Fairley advises that organization and systematization are important for all law firms. Systems you need include: client intake, client education, client retention, referral development, marketing and business development and Key Performance Indicator tracking.

Fairley emphasized how imperative these systems are for the working of your firm, saying that you need the right systems in your firm: “The people run your systems, but the systems run your law firm.”

One of the best systems to institute for your practice is a system for follow up with new contacts. Studies have shown that clients don't make buying decisions (including the decision to hire a lawyer) until there have been between 7 and 20 contacts with you. But 90% of lawyers give up before or after only four contacts. If you’re one of those lawyers, adding a fifth contact would probably add 10-15% to your business.

Fairley recommends using autoresponders to automate your follow up process with web visitors as well as strategic alliances.He recommends Aweber for autoresponder service; I use them for my email newsletter and autoresponders for other purposes.

According to Fairley, the #1 goal of your website is to capture leads. But recognize that 85% of your visitors to your website will stay less than 30 seconds and will never return. That means you've got a VERY short window of time in order to capture your web visitor's attention. And when that attention is captured, you want to capture their contact information so that you have permission to keep in touch with them – creating those all-important multiple contacts. He suggests that you get leads by giving free information in exchange for contact information from web visitors.

An e-newsletter is one way that firms stay in touch with their clients on a regular basis and offer free information to them. But your e-newsletter can get lost in a mountain of email. Include personal touches so that your list looks forward to receiving your email newsletter, and supplement the e-newsletter with personal touches, too.

Remember that your e-newsletter is only one part of your overall marketing plan. It can't do all of the work for you, but it can do a good job of automating some contact with your client and referral base on a regular basis - every 4-6 weeks is recommended. This is not too much contact if you’re providing value - from your reader's perspective.

Thinking of starting your own firm newsletter? Check out these tips from one of my previous posts about firm newsletters.

 

Do Something! Create a Marketing Habit

Marketing is more important now than ever. The people who are bringing in business are the ones who have integrated marketing into their practice on a daily basis. But for lawyers, that isn't always easy, and it doesn't always come naturally. 

 

My colleague Paula Black is launching her her latest book: “The Little Black Book: A Lawyer’s Guide To Creating A Marketing Habit in 21 Days.” Designed to help lawyers integrate marketing into their daily lives, this book is quick, easy and inspirational, and it will give you easy ways to make marketing a habit in your practice.

 

By purchasing the book within the next 48 hours you will receive special access to information and resources from more than 30 experts. A compilation of advice from some of the most sought-after experts in the legal arena, “The Smart Lawyer’s Toolkit” gives you instant admittance to an incredible collection of tips and information. Click here for details…but do it fast!

 

(Experts include: Larry Bodine, Bruce MacEwen, Arnie Herz, Ed Poll, Tom Kane, Gerry Riskin, Patrick Lamb, Patrick J. McKenna, Paramjit Mahli, Ben Glass, Alexis Martin Neely, and more. There's even a resource included from me - and it's one of the ones my clients like best.)

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.

Raising the Bar - Dress the Part

I came across these presentation tips this week on the BusinessWeek site, reminding us that, whether we like it or not, others will judge us by the way we dress. The tips include looking better than everyone else, ensuring you have the right fit, paying attention to your footwear, and dressing appropriately for the event or culture.

Last night was the season premiere for the second season of TNT's drama series, "Raising the Bar." I only caught one or two episodes of last year's season, so when I was asked to review this season premiere, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. As it turns out, it dovetailed nicely with the above tips.

Raising the Bar revolves around the cases and lives of young lawyers who work in the public defender's office and the district attorney's office, and the courts and judges before whom these lawyers practice. The stars of the show include Mark-Paul Gosselaar, who plays idealist Jerry Kellerman, a public defender known in part for his long hair and unconventional methods. In fact, this season's premier episode opens with a montage of comments by lawyers on both sides of the aisle wishing Jerry a Happy Birthday -- and commenting on his hair.

Jerry soon finds out that the other lawyers aren't the only ones taking notice of his hair. During voir dire, as Jerry is questioning jurors about what kinds of people they trust, one juror indicates that he trusts 'the other lawyer' but doesn't think he'd trust Jerry because of his appearance - including his rumpled clothing and his long hair. As luck would have it, Jerry's attempt to have the juror knocked off of the jury for cause is blocked by the judge, and he's out of peremtory challenges - which means he's stuck with this juror.

To the shock and suprise of all involved, Jerry arrives for court the following morning with a new haircut. (As it happens, his client owns a barbershop). And when Jerry's client throws him a curveball during the trial by failing to testify as planned in an attempt to show support for his nephew, Jerry uses it to his advantage by harkening back to the theme of trust from jury selection. He exhorts the jury to decide based upon whether they found his client to be trustworthy.

Did Jerry's new haircut have an impact on the jurors' decision? It probably didn't hurt. Even unconventional Jerry may have realized that, despite his personal preferences and personal style, being in a leadership role - particularly one in which your job is to persuade others - sometimes requires you to dress the part (i.e. dress appropriately for the situation and the culture). 

Raising the Bar is produced by Steven Bochco, producer of many a well-known TV series. I'm interested to see how the rest of this season develops, particularly with the cast Bochco has put together. In addition to Gosselaar, Gloria Reuben (formerly of ER) plays Kellerman's boss, 'Roz' Whitman, who announced last night that, due to heavy caseloads, she'll be stepping in to try more cases, and Jane Kaczmarek, who plays Judge Trudy Kessler.   

Last night's episode also featured Roz's first foray back into the courtroom, in which she respresented a hockey mom involved in an altercation with another parent at her son's hockey game. Roz's client's financial situation precludes her from posting bail, in contrast to the other mom involved, whose husband is a well-known and financially well-off business person, raising questions about what the client's best course of action will be, since she is a single parent with a child in need of care.

Interested? Watch Raising the Bar every Monday night at 10 p.m. (ET/PT) on TNT.

Click here for more tips on public speaking and dress code. (Hat tip to Kevin O'Keefe)

Don't fall victim to 'random acts of marketing'

Last week, I promised to post some more about the Total Practice Management Association's "Get a Life (TM)" Conference, and some of the specific tips I picked up as I was "live-tweeting" the conference.

First up is Ross Fishman, who was not only an entertaining speaker, but was of the presenters who used his PowerPoint presentation most effectively. He started off his lecture talking about law firm websites and contrasting two different firm websites  - actually a 'before' and 'after' of one of his clients (although he didn't reveal that until later).

Fishman emphasized the importance of developing relationships over time and becoming a niche expert. He also distinguished between 'marketing' and 'sales,' saying that the purpose of your marketing activities is to provide you with sales opportunities. In other words, you use various marketing to get a prospect to contact you or to set up an appointment (the sales opportunity). The sales opportunity is when how you get the business.

The sales and marketing distinction is an important one, because many lawyers make the mistake of trying to 'sell' prospects all of the time, rather than using marketing as an interim step to create an opportunity to have the sales conversation. Often, even lawyers with good intentions who would be a good fit for the client and who have the ability to effectively solve a client's problems turn off the client by trying to 'sell' the client at the time of the first contact.

Your marketing materials - including your website - create an impression of your firm. Fishman suggests reviewing your materials from a new perspective. As you look at your materials, ask yourself: What opinions do you form looking at your materials? What do your clients want? What will those clients respond to? Do your materials reflect what your clients want and respond to?

Although your marketing materials must respond to your prospect's wants and needs, they must also be a genuine reflection of you and your firm. If you misrepresent who you are, your efforts will ultimately fall flat. Do your marketing materials reflect who you are and your firm's culture/personality?

Fishman cautions lawyers against making these common mistakes:

Engaging in "Hummingbird selling" - the lawyer meets someone, goes to lunch, talks all about themselves and their firm the whole time and then hits the person up for business. Instead, remember that you must LISTEN to others first, to learn about them, and take the time to establish a relationship before asking for business. RELATIONSHIPS develop SLOWLY - it is a long term process which requires between 7 and 20 face to face contacts. The "Random acts of lunch" approach is not efficient.

Failing to build a robust contact list. According to Fishman, "non-rainmakers" have 10-15 people on their contact lists, while "rainmakers" have HUNDREDS

Marketing too broadly. The way to build your practice is by positioning yourself as THE expert in your area in the mind of the prospect. The way to accomplish this is to market narrowly by creating a niche. You can practice in more than one niche area, but you must focus your marketing on a small segment of the population. Just as large companies such as Proctor & Gamble have several different brands, such as Tide, Dove, Crest and Pampers for different purpose, you want to create 'brands' that you can market to a small segment of the population, and then target those people by getting involved in their trade associations or groups. To be effective, Fishman says you must: 

• Be active

• Be visible

• Be a leader

Some of Fishman's 'quotables' included:

• Most people's networking is like throwing business cards out the back window. It may work, but it's not likely
• Your goal should be market leadership/market dominance
• The basic issue in marekting is creating a category you can be first in
• Everything in marketing flows from the message - do you have a unique message?
• Focus your marketing - you can practice broadly, but market narrowly

Need help developing a niche or a marketing strategy that's narrowly focused? Feel free to contact me to see how I can help.

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.

Summer Reading for Lawyers

While the weather outside on Long Island isn't exactly balmy yet (at least not consistently), my calendar tells me that summer is approaching, and for many, that means it's time to find some great books to read, whether you prefer the paper and ink kind or reading on your Kindle or other electronic device.

Last week, I attended the Amercian Bar Association combined Spring Meeting for the Law Practice Management Section and the Young Lawyers Division, and the theme from one of our business meetings was books. That, coupled with several recent conversations with lawyers about books prompted me to write this post. The following is a list of book suggestions compiled from my own lists, last week's meeting, and those multiple conversations.

While some of the books on this list are books you'd expect to see on a reading list for lawyers, others are rather unconventional suggestions. This list is by no means exhaustive, but I hope you find at least one book that you hadn't considered before.

My recommendations:

The End of Lawyers? Rethinking the Nature of Legal Services, by Richard Susskind There's been a lot of 'buzz' in the legal world about this book, which is a bit more optimistic than its title implies. Susskind opines that the nature of legal services, and the delivery of those services, will change dramatically over the next several years. I recommend the book to every lawyer, regardless of practice area or stage of your career. If you want a bit of a preview about the concepts in the book, you can hear Susskind's keynote speech that was given at this year's American Bar Association Techshow earlier this year at the ABA Techshow home page. 

Brag! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It, by Peggy Klaus
Some may say that lawyers brag too much and focus too much on themselves, but do they sell themselves well? Whether you're a lawyer looking for a job, trying to impress the partners in your firm with your accomplishments or seeking ways to differentiate yourself and get your message out to clients, this book can help. Learn creative ways to talk about your skills and accomplishments to showcase what is unique about you without sounding like you're a pompous jerk.

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, by Robert Cialdini
As a lawyer, much of what you do involves persuasion, from persuading a jury to find in favor of your client, to persuading a potential client that you're the lawyer they should work with to persuading counsel to adopt your version of the contract provision or persuading an employee to take on a new project or responsibility. This book will provide insight into how people make decisions and identifies the most effective methods you can use to convince others.

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
Another book about how people make decisions, Gladwell's Blink focuses on split-second decisionmaking and how you can train yourself to focus on the most important information, and make faster - and possibly more valuable - decisions. This is an especially interesting read for lawyers, who are prone to 'analysis paralysis' and often have difficulty identifying when to stop researching or planning and make a decision.

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, by Malcolm Gladwell
Are you a "Connector" a "Maven" a "Salesman," or none of the above - and what does that mean for your practice? What methods can be employed to affect real change?

What Clients Love: A Field Guide to Growing Your Business, by Harry Beckwith
Beckwith's books are easy to read, and the chapters are short, making them ideal reads for waiting in court or for a 15 minute break during the day. This book puts the focus back where it belongs - on the client. If you want to attract and keep clients, this volume will give you practical, strategic and humorous tips to do just that.

Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing, by Harry Beckwith
I already wrote about this book in December in my post, "Good is Better than Best When it Comes to Planning," but the book has much more to offer than I wrote about in that post. Law is a service profession, which, by definition means that it's a relationship profession. In this book, Beckwith demonstrates how best to market a service business. This book demonstrates one of the core principles I discuss with clients on a daily basis - marketing is inextricably intertwined with the way you run your practice - your marketing will fall flat if you don't deliver the client experience.

The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron
Whether you consider yourself an 'artist' or not, the fact of the matter is that as a lawyer, you're in a creative profession. And the more creative and innovative you can be, the better the client experience you can deliver. But it's easly to lose that creative edge when you're mired in the day to day business of law. Cameron's program can help you unblock that creativity, and it includes one of the exercises clients have found universally helpful - the daily writing habit. 

The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life, by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
Another 'non-traditional' recommendation for lawyers, but one that's sure to provide inspiration and a new way of looking at your practice, motivating your employees and creating the results you want in your practice. It includes some techniques and practices that you may have seen before, but with a bit of a twist. In a time of economic downturn, it's especially useful for learning to look for possibilities and opportunities rather than seeing the world through a scarcity mindset.

(For more of my recommendations, see my recommended reading list in the sidebar of this blog)

Recommendations from others (that I look forward to reading):

Leading Change, by John P. Kotter

Aligning the Stars: How To Succeed When Professionals Drive Results, by Jay William Lorsch and Thomas J. Tierney

The Knowing-Doing Gap: How Smart Companies Turn Knowledge Into Action, by Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I. Sutton

Spin Selling, by Neil Rackham

Small is the New Big: and 183 Other Riffs, Rants and Remarkable Business Ideas, by Seth Godin

World Wide Rave: Creating Triggers that Get Millions of People to Spread Your Ideas and Share Your Stories, by David Meerman Scott

10-10-10: A Life Transorming Idea, by Suzy Welch

And I got a great tip at the meeting from Tom Grella, partner and chair of the Management Committeer at McGuire, Wood & Bissette, P.A.: You can find books at great prices at www.alibris.com.

Special thanks to Jennifer Ator and John Remsen for their suggestions as well!

Please share your book suggestions by leaving a comment!

Law Practice Today - A Great Resource for Lawyers

The Law Practice Management Section of the American Bar Association publishes Law Practice Today, an online magazine specifically targeted toward the business issues involved in the practice of law in four core areas: Management, Marketing, Finance and Technology.

Law Practice Today is a FREE resource for attorneys - you don't have to be a member of the LPM Section, or even a member of the ABA, in order to access the magazine and its articles. The May issue was just posted. It focuses on the issues encountered by lawyers starting or re-starting their own practices.

Here's what you'll find in this issue:

Finance
Two of the questions most frequently asked by lawyers are: “How much money do I need in order to open my own practice?” and “What do I do about clients who want me to reduce my fees?” This month’s issue addresses both. Erik Mazzone’s article, “How Much Money Do You Need to Start a Law Firm” providing tips for lawyers to help them determine whether they’re ready to go out on their own.

 

It’s no secret that the recession is hitting the legal profession hard. Ed Poll addresses the ways law firms can retain income and clients by demonstrating value, managing knowledge appropriately, unbundling services and more in Legal Fees: How to Address the Client Pressure to Lower Fees.

Technology
Technology can give lawyers an advantage by helping them to be more productive, but it has its downside, too. In this month’s The Legal Mac Column, David Sparks discusses Using Windows on Your Mac, eliminating one more obstacle for those seeking to switch from PCs to Macs, whether you want to use Windows exclusively or Windows and OS X on the same machine. In BlackBerry Behavior: Is It Ruining Your Reputation? the darker side of technology rears its ugly head when BlackBerry users forget to be considerate of those around them (this article previously appeared as a post on this blog).

 

It’s tough keeping up with the latest technology, but Dennis Kennedy’s article, Legal Technology Trends for 2009: The Year of Hunkering Down identifies trends and provides tips for what lawyers can do now to stay ahead of the curve – even if they’re on a budget.

Speaking of budgets – most lawyers are looking for ways to cut expenses during the downturn. Joseph Kashi identifies Low-Cost Computer Fixes for Tough Times. And our own Rodney Dowell reviews Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Legal and tells of his personal experience installing and using the software across multiple platforms.

Marketing Yourself and Your Firm
Can small firms compete with big firms for business? Davis C. Bae shows how small firms can do just that in The Illusion of Size (And Other Ways to Compete with the Big Competition).  Looking for a job? If so, you’re marketing YOU. Meri J. Kahan shows law students how their performance at a summer job or internship is an important first step to landing a full time position in Alchemy in a Down Economy: Turning a 2L Summer Associate Job into a Golden Full-Time One.

In Make Giving Part of Your Business Strategy, Andrea Malone shows lawyers how they can contribute to charity, even in tough times, and to do so strategically to benefit the firm as well as the charity. And Mister Thorne provides A Formula for Shy Attorneys, demonstrating how even shy attorneys can attract business, and learn successful rainmaking tips from Rainmaker Linda J. Ravdin in an interview by Beverly A. Loder.  

Management
One of the decisions lawyers need to make when opening their own practices is about where to establish an office. Home office? Executive suite? Office share? The Essentials of Office Sharing and Executive Suites, an excerpt from Flying Solo provides tips to help lawyers make this all-important decision.

 You’ve probably heard about the swine flu even if you haven’t been directly affected by it yet – but how will an outbreak affect your firm or your clients? Read Swine Flu – Some Employment Issues by Bernard Jacques to find out.

Podcast – Productivity Tips
This month’s installment of The Digital Edge Technology Podcast by Jim Calloway and Sharon Nelson is a discussion with Reid Trautz and Dan Pinnington about their new book, The Busy Lawyer’s Guide to Success: Essential Tips to Power Your Practice. 

These articles and more are available at no cost to you and your readers on the LPM website. This month’s issue can be found at: http://www.abanet.org/lpm/lpt/home.shtml.