Legal Commentary

Using Outsourcing to Market Your practice

Posted on July 16, 2009
My latest post on The Middle Office.

Don't Be a Stranger

Posted on July 15, 2009
My wife and I have lived in the same house for 15 years. During that time, we have hired someone to paint on four separate occasions and each time we have been very happy with both the price and with the results. On an interpersonal level, we liked each painter and as best as I can recall, we really didn?t have any complaints...

Think Like a Lawyer-Bill Like a Contractor

Posted on July 09, 2009
My latest post on alternative billing and how lawyers can overcome their aversion to ditching the billable hour.

A Blessing in Disguise?

Posted on July 03, 2009
That's one way to think about being laid off from your large firm job.For most of the lawyers I've worked with over the years, leaving large firm practice was an improvement in their lives. That's not to say that the transition is easy or without ups and downs...

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The Power of Digital Media

Posted on June 26, 2009

Why Relying on Spell Checker is Dangerous

Posted on June 19, 2009
Those of us that blog, tweet and make general use of social media are often in a hurry to publish our posts. Some of us use spell checker to avoid egregious spelling error. But an e-mail I received this morning is a good reminder of why relying on spell checker alone can get you into trouble...

Overcoming Adversity

Posted on June 16, 2009
That's the key to real career success. Success is not a straight path to the top. That in today's Career Journal.

How is the Downturn Effecting More Senior Lawyers

Posted on June 12, 2009
Hear yours truly interviewed on the Legal Talk Network.

7 Habits of Highly Effective Partners

Posted on June 10, 2009
Actually it's 8; but doing excellent work is presumed and not counted on the list by this author.I'm sure many equity partners fall far short in following these tips. These are all aspects of managing and building a business and obviously each lawyer brings a different strength to the table (aside from his or her practice expertise); but if you consider them aspirational, it's a good road map for success (i...

Acing the Phone Interview

Posted on June 03, 2009
Phone interviews used to be a perfunctory way to throw softball questions at prospective candidates before bringing them in for a "real" interview. But according to the WSJ, increasingly, phone interviews are becoming much more rigorous as companies seek to cut down on travel costs...

Think Like a Lawyer-Bill Like a Consultant

Posted on June 02, 2009
How can lawyers get themselves away from the dreaded billable hour? By adopting billing methods that have long been standard in the consulting industry. See my post on the Middle Office.

Advice for Summer Associates

Posted on June 01, 2009
My latest article in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.

A Plug...for Me

Posted on May 29, 2009
In general, I don't think it is a good idea to use a blog to sell your services (at least not overtly). If you blog regularly and provide good content, readers will see that you are knowledgeable about your subject area and that you are ready, willing and able to share your wisdom...

Time to Get Serious About Marketing

Posted on May 27, 2009
A marketing consultant says that in these times, lawyers should spend at least 3 hours a week on marketing activities. But what if you can't figure out how to spend those three hours most effectively? Hire a coach. That's what Jim Hassett suggests...

Thinking of Switching to Law Firm Management?

Posted on May 22, 2009
Lawyers who are thinking of switching to a management role at a firm have some advantages over non-lawyers. Presumably, they understand how lawyers think, how work gets done and how to best serve clients. But management requires a set of skills that is very different than the skills required to be a good lawyer...

More Law Firms Shifting Marketing Dollars to Coaching

Posted on May 20, 2009
That in today's WSJ (subscription req.).Many lawyers can benefit from individual coaching. Firms are starting to see the value of training lawyers on how to build business relationships more effectively. Some firms are waking up to this reality by shifting dollars away from marketing and towards one on one support for individual attorneys...

Thinking Creatively About The Practice of Law

Posted on May 17, 2009
Why would any law firm client be willing to pay more than the agreed upon billing rate? Why would any law firm agree up front to discount its rates for clients who are unhappy with the service they received? Well at least one law firm is banking on being on the winning side of this billing strategy...

Want to Be Successful? Keep an Open Mind

Posted on May 15, 2009
That from an interview with the inventor of Star Trek's Klingon language. This has a lot of relevance to lawyers and today's economy. If you think creatively about your options, you are more likely to find success in these challenging times. This may not be easy for many lawyers; but thinking outside the box is a skill we can all cultivate (even risk averse lawyers who spend their days advising clients how to avoid risk).

Solos Have Unique Advantages During Harsh Econonmic Times

Posted on May 14, 2009
In The Complete Lawyer. Solos can be more nimble, adapting more quickly to changing market conditions. Of course it is harder to serve business clients as a solo; but there are many specialists out there who form relationships with small firms and other solos in order to keep a steady pipeline of work coming from more sophisticated clients.

Advice for Keeping Your Law Firm Job

Posted on May 13, 2009
Make sure to keep up your billable hours (free subscription required). Seems like old fashioned advice since hourly billing is under attack right now.But until the law firm model truly changes, your survival in a downturn depends on your ability to show that you are generating sufficient revenues for your firm...

The Era of Delayed Gratification

Posted on May 13, 2009
Interesting discussion on WBUR's On Point. Did easy credit play off of one of our foibles as human beings (the difficulty we have in avoiding pain in the future when pleasure is here right now).While I'm hardly an ascetic, I do think that one silver lining of the Big Recession is that we will all learn to plan a little more for our futures and do more investing before we reap the rewards of our hard work...

Are You Fit for Solo Practice?

Posted on May 08, 2009
Here is a good list of ten qualities of an entrepreneur. The list has relevance if you are contemplating striking out on your own (or starting a new firm with partners). Item #4 is probably the hardest one to translate to the law (Do you have a unique service or product?) It's hard to come up with a new practice area that the marketplace needs...

Checklist for Starting a Solo Practice

Posted on May 06, 2009
A good overview if you are thinking of going out on your own.

Freelance Lawyers

Posted on May 05, 2009
I've never seen the term "freelance lawyer" but it's a great way to differentiate "contract" lawyers who do large document review projects from "contract" lawyers who really act as associates for hire. While the words could be used interchangeably, there is clearly a difference between the lawyer who decides to do higher level work on a contract basis and a lawyer who joins a contract agency and gets send out with a small army of other contract attorneys to sift through business records...

Free Download on Selling Legal Services

Posted on May 05, 2009
Providing free content to prospects is a great way to market yourself. The Wellesley Hills Group has done just that by serving up a free e-book called Mastering Rainmaking Conversations.It's a quick read and of course no single book can turn you into a rainmaker...

Twitter, LinkedIn and the Tower of "Babble"--Part II

Posted on May 03, 2009
Several days ago, I posted some general thoughts about how to make sense of Web 2.0. It's the wild west right now so what lawyers really should be doing is experimenting. In some ways, this advice is not all that helpful. After all, it's fine to say go ahead and experiment...

Avoiding Phone Tag

Posted on April 29, 2009
The telephone is still a critical business tool. While electronic communication is great for scheduling, creating a record and exchanging documents, it is hard to have a highly nuanced conversation in writing. So for the foreseeable future, the telephone is still a real player...

Better Learn to Oursource

Posted on April 29, 2009
If you want to succeed in the practice of law, you better learn how to outsource certain functions. Clients are not going to pay full freight for tasks that can easily be completed off shore at a much lower price point but at the same level of quality...

Saving Money--Reader's Tips in NYTimes

Posted on April 27, 2009
Some good ideas for riding out the recession (free subscription required).

Twitter, LinkedIn and the Tower of "Babble"

Posted on April 24, 2009
If you are confused about how to use social media to market your law practice, you are in good company. Although twitter is getting tremendous media attention at the moment (and in all likelihood, you've been receiving connect requests through LinkedIn for months), these are very new media...

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