Interesting New Weblog.

Great new weblog by Brace McEwen called Adam Smith, Esq. Bruce's blog is subtitled, "An inquiry into the economics of law firms," and has some really interesting stuff.

LegalMatch Part III

This LegalMatch thing has taken on a life of its own. Recall that I posted here and here about my experience with a LegalMatch marketer and the company's reply. Since then, Rick Klau and Carolyn Elefant have continued the discussion on their blogs.

I have never used LegalMatch so I can't vouch for their service. I'm sure they have dozens (hundreds, thousands?) of satisfied customers. My only complaint was that their sales pitch, which I felt was less than honest, offended me as a potential customer. Not the way to get the relationship off on the right foot.

The point I wanted to make in the original post is that you need to be very careful about first impressions when communicating with potential customers. Don't overpromise, don't pressure, don't brag, don't deceive, and don't talk down to your potential clients. Articulate the benefits of hiring you with humility, and let the prospects decide on their own timetable if you are the right attorney for them.

Interesting Stats on Women vs. Men Business Owners

I have made it a point to focus much of my marketing on women-owned businesses. For some of the reasons why, take a look at this study from the Center for Women's Business Research comparing woman-owned businesses to man-owned businesses with more than $1 Million in revenues:

Women are more likely than men to have been the founder of the business (73% to 60%) rather than have purchased, inherited or acquired in another way.

Women are less likely than men to use commercial loans or lines of credit (56% to 70%).

Women are less likely to have raised money from outside investors (4% to 11%).

Women were ahead of men in their adoption of the Internet and ecommerce as a business growth strategy (58% to 35%).

(From the Rhonda Report at The Planning Shop)

LegalMatch, Part II.

The other day, I titled a post, Why I'll Never Use LegalMatch. Today, I got this e-mail from Randy Wells at LegalMatch:

I read your commentary with interest. It is important to understand that we uphold our attorney relationships in the highest regard. Our "start up" days are over, and we are respected throughout the legal community. We never contact an attorney unless we have more clients coming to us for help, than we have attorneys in our system. This system has proven to be very sucessful for our members. We do not use "high pressure" sales people. In fact, close to half of our attorney allocation managers have their J.D. and many have been in practice.

Our process is simply to interview attorneys that have responded to our call to help clients. We don't quote pricing until we have a very clear understanding of the geographical area of practice, the preference within the specialty, and the years of experience. Quoting a fee schedule prior to understanding the needs of the attorney, and the practice of law they are involved in, would be akin to going to see a Doctor and asking he/she for a procedural price before even having an examination.

We are approaching this process responsibly, and reasonably, for the people who have asked us for help. Some Attorneys don't like to be interviewed and have their records scrutinized. The public trusts us, and we will not betray that trust. You can't "buy" your way into LegalMatch. We reject many attorney applications due to past disciplinary problems, but even more, due to NOT having a client flow that can support the Attorney practice. It sounds like you haven't reviewed the site thoroughly. Please go to www.legalmatch.com, and go into the Lawyer join section. Our company history, press releases, and testimonials should give a fairly clear picture.

My response: I wouldn't have posted at all, had the call from Legal Match been something like: "I"m Randy Wells from LegalMatch and I think you might be interested in joining our referral service because we regularly have potential clients in your area who may need a lawyer like you." However, to call me and not identify yourself as a salesperson, but instead masquerade as an attorney with a specific client in need of an attorney immediately is dishonest -- especially if you require me to join your service to get the referral.

I can't imagine having a client come into my office with an out-of-state problem (let's say it relates to her divorce in Montana) and I tell her I'll call a few Montana attorneys to see if they can help her. To each attorney, I leave a message on their voice mail saying, "I have a client in immediate need of your services in Montana, call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX." When they call, I tell them they need to pay me before I'll give them the client's name -- whether the client hires them or not. I could never imagine doing that, and I doubt that it would even be ethically permissable. That is my complaint. Your sales pitch immediately makes me want to not use your service. And if your sales pitch angers me enough to write a two posts about it, think about how much other business you must be losing from lawyers who feel the same way.

Trust makes a holiday.

Saw a link to this article on The Nub about how the concept of "trust holidays" has been imported to Britain from this country, "where accountancy, law and advertising firms have all adopted the idea." Now I don't know how many law firms have adopted the idea, but according to the article, firms that have instituted the scheme:

allow staff to decide among themselves how much time they want off, so long as between them they get their jobs done. Each employee's performance is assessed at the end of the year to ensure that they are performing up to standard.

One firm (with 30 employees) allows "everyone from the cleaner to the managing director" to take part. There are only two conditions: customers must not suffer and all holidays have to be agreed by their immediate colleagues.

This certainly has some merit. Define your employees' roles, duties, and responsibilities -- and reward them for the work they do, not the time they spend. Sounds kind of like value billing.

Don't learn from your competitors.

David Young, in his Branding Blog, takes issue with the suggestion that small start-ups can learn the most from their competitiors by hanging out with them at the places they "schmooze," like industry trade shows. In this post, titled, "When you seek differentiation and innovation, don't expect to find it by sniffing around at your competitors," David writes:

Don't expect to find ideas for innovation or differentiation from people who are attempting to do the same thing as you. If you copy from them, are you differentiating? No. Are you likely to get fresh ideas? No. The best you can hope for is for some ideas on processes and practices that might make you more efficient. But, ideas to make you stand apart from your competition? Forget it. They won't be shared.

You'd be much better off seeking the convention of an entirely different industry that shares some characteristics with your own. If you're a chiropractor, look for a service industry that shares some characteristics with yours. How about a plumber's convention? We only call plumbers (and chiropractors) when we need them. Most of the time we need to see them right away. And the plumbers will be delighted to share information with you, because you are NOT a competitor.

Henry Ford did not get the idea for the assembly line from visiting with other automobile manufacturers. He visited a meat processing facility and witnessed an un-assembly line.

David's final piece of advice:

If you're a small, entrepreneurial business looking to differentiate yourself from the competition, focus on the ONE asset you have that NONE of your competitors have: YOU! Do YOUR best. Be the greatest YOU can be. And, make sure your customers know that you care about them. Let the butt-sniffing dogs have their meetings.

I think David's advice is right on. Model your practice on your competitors' if you want to work just like they do. If you want to grow and innovate, look outside of the legal profession to find out what others are doing well. Who is the most successful accountant in your town? What is the most popular restaurant? Who runs that little store you love to shop in? Take them to lunch. Learn from them. They will be willing to share their secrets of success with you and may even end up hiring you as their attorney.

Don't Sell Like This.

Yesterday, I received two after-hour voice mails that went something like this, "Hi, I'm Bill Johnson and I have some clients in your area in urgent need of a matrimonial lawyer.  Please give me a call as soon as you can at XXX-XXX-XXXX."  The number is not toll-free, but a long distance number on the west coast.  I'm not calling it this time, but I've fallen for this ruse before.  The caller is not an attorney seeking to refer a client, but rather LegalMatch, a for-pay lawyer referral company.  They don't have a client in "urgent need of my services," but want me to sign up for their costly service to have them send me prospects.  Many lawyers I've spoken to don't think highly of the company's claims.  I can't vouch for their services, but their deceitful telephone pitch really pisses me off.   If they are trying to sell me a product, tell me so. 

Top 10 reasons.

I just found the "Top Ten Reasons to Work at Google" on the company's web site. They are:

1. Lend a helping hand. With more than 82 million visitors every month, Google has become an essential part of everyday life—like a good friend—connecting people with the information they need to live great lives.

2. Life is beautiful. Being a part of something that matters and working on products in which you can believe is remarkably fulfilling.

3. Appreciation is the best motivation, so we've created a fun and inspiring workspace you'll be glad to be a part of, including on-site doctor and dentist; massage and yoga; professional development opportunities; on-site day care; shoreline running trails; and plenty of snacks to get you through the day.

4. Work and play are not mutually exclusive. It is possible to code and pass the puck at the same time.

5. We love our employees, and we want them to know it. Google offers a variety of benefits, including a choice of medical programs, company-matched 401(k), stock options, maternity and paternity leave, and much more.

6. Innovation is our bloodline. Even the best technology can be improved. We see endless opportunity to create even more relevant, more useful, and faster products for our users. Google is the technology leader in organizing the world’s information.

7. Good company everywhere you look. Googlers range from former neurosurgeons, CEOs, and U.S. puzzle champions to alligator wrestlers and ex-marines. No matter what their backgrounds Googlers make for interesting cube mates.

8. Uniting the world, one user at a time. People in every country and every language use our products. As such we think, act, and work globally—just our little contribution to making the world a better place.

9. Boldly go where no one has gone before. There are hundreds of challenges yet to solve. Your creative ideas matter here and are worth exploring. You'll have the opportunity to develop innovative new products that millions of people will find useful.

10.There is such a thing as a free lunch after all. In fact we have them every day: healthy, yummy, and made with love.

I've got to get working on the top 10 reasons to work at my firm -- or just chuck this whole law thing and check out the new job postings.

Reinventing your firm.

Frequent readers of this weblog know that I am reinventing the way that I practice law. Jennifer Rice, responding to this Harvard Business School Working Knowledge article suggests her twelve ways to revive a brand here. They are:

1. Listen to customers and understand what they want.
2. Determine how your customer experience measures up to what they want.
3. If it doesn’t measure up, fix it. If there’s a list of things to fix, start with what’s most important to customers.
4. Do you have a meaningful point of difference from competitors? If not, create one using the understanding from #1.
5. Create a focused, durable brand position that meshes with the previous 4 items.
6. Communicate that brand message consistently over time throughout every customer touchpoint.
7. Break down internal silos to ensure that all departments are working together to build the brand.
8. Create mechanisms to gather ongoing feedback from customers.
9. Make sure your employees understand how they can build the brand, and make sure they’re happy. Happy employees make happy customers.
10. Happy customers generate referrals. Measure your buzz factor.
11. Now that you’ve built your brand from the ground up, it’s worth spending more money on advertising.
12. Have discipline to follow – and continually reevaluate – all the points on this list.

As I move away from time-based billing and towards service-based billing, I will keep this checklist front and center. You should too.

April Fool's Came Early

Yesterday, I posted this about an anonymous lawyer blogging about his experiences as a large law firm hiring partner. Apparently, it was a hoax. The fact that some, like me, actually thought this could be a real lawyer surprised the blog's author:

It actually scares me that these stories are close enough to the realm of possibility that it's not obvious fiction. It's not a reflection on the people who linked to them, I'm sure. It's a reflection on either what these law firms really are, or, more likely, what their reputations are. Just the hours this imaginary guy works -- 6:45 on a Sunday morning I thought for sure would ruin all credibility.

The problem is that the stories the anonymous blogger made up are perilously close to the truth. I don't know if I am glad that this a-hole hiring partner doesn't really exist, of if I am disappointed that many of us thought that he could.

The joy of lawyering.

Another anonymous lawyer blogger who claims to be the "hiring partner at a large firm in a major city," at the aptly titled Anonymous Lawyer. I know he/she is truly a large firm lawyer because you just can't make this stuff up:

I hate Fridays. Everyone else in the world loves Fridays because it means the weekend is here. I hate Fridays because it means another weekend when I should be home but instead I'll either be at work, thinking about work, or wondering if I should be at work. Saturday at least. Sunday I don't work. Well, 80% of the time. Sunday is help my family spend my paycheck day. Anyone want a pony?

Or this:

A kid that I interviewed this past fall -- I can't remember exactly which one -- commented on all the stacks of paper in everyone's office. It was just idle small-talk, it wasn't like he asked a question about the paper, or made a big deal of it. He said he'd have thought so much more would be electronic. And a lot of what we do is electronic -- I certainly don't print out every e-mail I get -- but you can't mark up a document on the computer, you can't carry it down the hall and wave it in someone's face and ask them what they were thinking when they left out the comma on page 17. I never thought about it before, but I can't imagine ever getting to a point where there wasn't all this paper. You just can't walk into an associate's office, slam your laptop on his desk, and scroll down to the place where he made a mistake. You need to have that brief printed out, you need to be able to tear those pages right in front of eyes, to scatter them wildly across the room, to fill the sheet with red lines and crosses and corrections, to crumple those papers up, toss them in the trash can, light them on fire, and watch them burn. Sure, we could probably afford to destroy a couple dozen laptops a day just to make a point that we demand perfection -- but paper just works so much better for that.

And finally:

Someone, and I think I know who, keeps "borrowing" my stapler and never returning it. So I have to get my assistant just to come in here and staple some papers for me. Or if it's 7:30 in the morning, and my assistant isn't here yet, I have to go wandering the halls looking for someone else's stapler, so I can steal it, and bring it back to my desk. I shouldn't have to go combing the halls for a stapler. I'm a hiring partner. Staplers should be lining up at my door, begging for me to use them. Like summer associates. The hiring process is very rewarding, but having thirty insufferable law students here for 10 weeks every summer is a real chore. None of them know how to do anything, but they don't realize it and just end up making everyone else's lives more difficult. There are two types of summer associates that bother me the most. The first are the ones who half-ass everything and turn in memos that my five-year-old niece could write. The second are the ones who are hell-bent on finding a "mentor" and follow me around all day. "Can I look over your shoulder while you read a three-hundred-page contract?" No! If I like the work you're doing, I'll come find you and take you to lunch and, if you're lucky, make you feel like you actually belong. But if you make yourself my shadow, the only thing you're doing is making me wish we never gave you an offer. Those stakes really aren't high enough. We need to fire more summer associates. That would make the summer fun again. I need a stapler.

From the senior partner, with love.

From the And What Thanks Do We Get blog from one of the anonymous firm partners, complaining to/about his associates:

And while I'm on the subject, who is the "us" you refer to when you moan about how much the client is paying us? The "us" that I am thinking of is my partners and me. You figure into the equation as overhead. I don't hear the desks and chairs complaining about what our clients pay. The nonprofessional staff is blissfully unaware of what our realization rate is. Be more like that. The day may come when you are asked to participate in the discussions that the partnership has on these matters. I assure you, these meetings are much less about oysters and caviar and lighting cigars with $20 bills than you think. Be glad that you are presently spared from the grind of partners' meetings-- I do not know a single partner in a law firm anywhere that enjoys that aspect of what we do, and you will be no different. For now, you are called upon to work enough to justify what we pay you, and the work we have is what enables you to fulfill your part of the bargain.

I wish the firm partners weren't anonymous so I could find out if they are seeking additional "overhead" and send them a resume:

HELP WANTED: Traditional law firm seeking qualified, blissfully unaware, overhead. Flexible hours -- work enough to justify what we pay. Challenging work with partners and the support of nonprofessional staff. Apply by sending resume to ...

I hope I get the job.

How not to write like a lawyer.

Great non-disclosure agreement written by a non-lawyer for non-lawyers:

Confidentiality: Paul asks that you not show or tell anyone this idea without first calling him at 781-648-1500 to ask his OK. If you tell one person you trust, they will tell one person they trust, and so on. If this idea gets out too early, Paul's business could be ruined. Thanks.

Via Business Opportunities Weblog.

Things to remember when talking to clients.

Saw this post on the blog Knowledge Jolt with Jack about Wiio's Laws, kind of the Murphy's Law of communication:

1. Communication usually fails, except by accident.
2. If a message can be interpreted in several ways, it will be interpreted in a manner that maximizes damages.
3. There is always someone who knows better than you what you meant with your message.
4. The more we communicate, the worse communication succeeds.
5. In mass communication, the important thing is not how things are but how they seem to be.
6. The importance of a news item is inversely proportional to the square of the distance.
7. The more important the situation is, the more probably you forget an essential thing that you remembered a moment ago.

Like Murphy's Law, these are all tongue in cheek, but remember rule 2 before you send that letter to your opposing counsel or your client.

Wait 'til next year.

I posted two weeks ago about my Fighting Illini and was happy (relieved) to see them advance to the Sweet 16. On Friday night, I went to the ESPN Zone in Chicago with fellow Techshow attendees Ernie (the Attorney) Svenson, Buzz Bruggemann and Bob Ambrogi to watch the Illinois-Duke game. Buzz is a true evangelist -- taking a break from his ActiveWords crusade, he tried to enlist a predominately Illlinois crowd to root for his alma mater Duke. Duke won, Buzz picked up the tab, and I sound like my wife (the Cubs fan): Wait 'til next year.

Quote of the Day

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow, study as if you were to live forever." Thomas More

What is your purpose?

Tom Asacker has a wonderful post on his Rebel with a Cause weblog. Tom starts, as he almost always does, with a quote, this time from Ralph Waldo Emerson, who said, "The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well." Tom writes about "branding" and "marketing" in his blog, but read the rest of his post and imagine he is talking about being the perfect lawyer:

The same is true of business and of work. Because after all, it's still life isn't it? And I'm talking about purpose . . . not mission. Not vision. Not money. Purpose. I keep coming back to this critical aspect of one's brand, because it seems to differentiate the best from the rest.

1. Useful - Is you business helpful? Is it enjoyable? Does it improve the lives of your customers and employees? Or are you simply filling the world with more noise and more stuff and lining your pockets in the process? If you're not sure, take a good, long look at the faces of your constituents. Are they smiling and serene? Do they feel good about themselves and their decisions in your presence? No? Then wake up! This is your big shot at making a difference in people's lives and in the world.

2. Honorable - Are you honest, straightforward, trustworthy? Do you play fair? And if not, whom do you think you're fooling? I'll tell you who. You're fooling your kids! You are not doing them a favor by providing for their financial security through your Machiavellian methods. That's simply more b.s. self-talk to make you feel good about yourself. What they need during these chaotic times is a role model to teach them what's truly important in life. So for their sake, get real!

3. Compassionate - If you think compassion is a wishy-washy concept in business, think again. Compassion is the deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it. Isn't that the key to innovation? Developing a deep understanding of the problems people have with their present life situation and developing products, services and business models to eliminate those problems? Of course it is. The days of make and sell are SO over. Sense and respond is the new branding mantra.

Now, reread #2 and go home and play with your kids.

The Problem with Competing on Price.

Rob at BusinessPundit has a great post on the dangers of competing on price -- especially with Wal Mart (as learned by Toys R Us). Rob says:

Blame it on Wal-Mart. Toys R Us should have seen it coming. Maybe they did, maybe they didn't, but rule number two for leaders is embrace the inevitable. Competing on price is, in my opinion, not that great of a strategy. Toys R Us needs to give people a reason to come to the stores other than just cheap toys. People can go to WalMart for that.

Competing on price is almost always dangerous. If you are able to offer your clients competent legal representation at a price lower than your competition, that's great. However, matching the lowest-priced lawyer in town can be a risky strategy -- unless you can match his or her low overhead, staffing costs, etc. If you can't, offer something that lawyer can't -- better service, quicker turnaround time, higher competence -- and charge accordingly.

I am reminded of the time I started working with another lawyer as his associate. He advertised "free consultations" in the yellow pages, believing this would bring in business, and then delegated to me most of the initial client meetings. I liked the work and enjoyed meeting a number of people, but found that at least 60% of the people I met did not retain the firm. When I opened my own office, and continued the free consultation policy, I tried to find out why. I first thought that I had somehow failed to communicate my competence or answer the potential client's questions. Instead, I found just the opposite to be true -- in many cases I had managed to answer the potential client's questions and/or solve their problems in the initial consult. They often felt that after the initial meeting, they no longer needed a lawyer any more. Since then, I have charged for initial consultations (though other lawyers in my area still do them for free) and have never had anyone complain about the cost of the consult. Most people want to talk to a lawyer and they appreciate one who will take the time to listen to their problems and offer suggestions for solving them. After all, nobody goes to the dentist for a checkup and expects to get the service for free, even if they have no cavities.

Go Illini!

I've been able to catch up on my blogging quite a bit today. Now is time to watch my Fighting Illini begin their trip to the final four. See everyone next week!

Thank you, John Porcaro

John knows why. Check out his blog.