If you believe that your law firm offers exceptional customer service, you might want to think again, says Kelli Proia, a Rhode Island-based intellectual property attorney and founder of Lawducate, a business education firm for lawyers. Proia says the customer service component is sadly lacking in the legal business as a whole, adding that too many lawyers focus on the work … [Read more...] about Is this essential ingredient missing from your firm’s customer service?
Marketing
Public image counts just as much as legal quality: 7 good rules
It takes more than good lawyering to make a practice a success. Just as important is a good public image. Here Trey Ryder, a legal marketing consultant in Payson, AZ, gives seven ways to make the firm look good. Rule #1: Pay up! Few people know much at all about the law firms in their community, Ryder says. They don't know the good from the bad. But what does get around … [Read more...] about Public image counts just as much as legal quality: 7 good rules
Unique client communication approach gives small firm a huge marketing advantage
Like many small firms, one Michigan office operates in a precarious environment. With only two attorneys and four staff, it faces heavy competition from larger firms as well as from firms opening satellite offices. And because the city itself is small, the client prospect pool is limited, says the administrator of the office. So the firm devised a … [Read more...] about Unique client communication approach gives small firm a huge marketing advantage
Simple ways to kill every tried and true legal marketing effort
The most sophisticated marketing can fall flat from the simplest attorney mistakes. Here are five of them. They are outlined by Deb Scaringi, a Boston marketing and business development consultant to professional service firms. 1. When the follow-up becomes stalking The first mistake is too much zeal, or killing a prospect with too much follow-up. Follow-up is essential. … [Read more...] about Simple ways to kill every tried and true legal marketing effort
To-Dos: Your August office checklist
The middle of summer is a great time for tackling projects that you can't get to during the rest of the year. Here are a few suggestions: Ensure that data security is covered in your employee handbook, employee training, and BYOD policy. Include computer files as part of your summer office clean-up. Start planning for the last quarter of the year in terms of collections … [Read more...] about To-Dos: Your August office checklist
Reports of the death of the billable hour are greatly exaggerated
By Sue-Ella Prodonovich bio How often are we told that the billable hour has had its day? That it's archaic, that it's inefficient, that it makes our clients angry and holds our practices back? Well guess, what? I disagree. In fact, I think the billable hour is wonderful - so wonderful that, for many professionals it should be a default in their business … [Read more...] about Reports of the death of the billable hour are greatly exaggerated
How to build your practice when you’re busy
By Sue-Ella Prodonovich bio 'How can I possibly work on business development? I'm flat out doing client work.' It's something I heard at a recent Practice Reboot seminar. And it's something I hear all the time from busy professionals. So, if you're struggling to find the time to build your practice, here are six tips to make it happen. 1. Eat the elephant How do you … [Read more...] about How to build your practice when you’re busy
Why you should notify applicants they didn’t get the job
Open positions, especially those advertised, often generate many applications. If your practice is located in a major metropolitan area or large town, you may receive a huge pile of applications, electronic or otherwise, in response to a job posting. Fortunately, not all job applicants will have the appropriate qualifications—otherwise, interviewing would … [Read more...] about Why you should notify applicants they didn’t get the job
Is your website violating ABA’s ethical guidelines?
A good website is valuable 24-hour marketing. But underneath it lies another web—one of ethical concerns, the main ones being misleading information, unwanted client relationships, and confidentiality breaches. For that reason, the American Bar Association set out guidelines for attorney websites, Formal Opinion 10-457 developed by the ABA's Standing Committee on Ethics and … [Read more...] about Is your website violating ABA’s ethical guidelines?
Why sometimes firms have to say “no”
By Bob Denney bio The Managing Partner of one of our clients once said to me, "The hardest thing in the world for most lawyers is to decline an opportunity for increased business, even when it's because of a conflict or a question of ethics." There's obviously no question about having to say "No" in those situations. But there are other opportunities for … [Read more...] about Why sometimes firms have to say “no”