It's official! The [non]billable hour is a time waster!
I was checking out my referral logs today for the first time in a few weeks, and found several incoming hits from Google to this post. Google "Time Waster" and you'll find that this blog has cracked the top ten for that term!
I know my wife has called it that before, but now it's official.
Site Maintenance
Thanks to an astute reader (thanks Fred!), I've found that my archive links to most of my Five by Five's aren't working. I'll try to get that fixed today, along with a new "Look what I found!" list on the sidebar.
Still Not Marketing to Women?
Michele Miller of Wonderbranding points to two interesting statistics she saw in this Business Journal article. The amazing stats:
85 percent of women will at some point in their lives be solely responsible for their homes,
and
90 percent of women will be solely responsible for their finances at some point in their lives.
Now, how are you tailoring your services to help these women? For some great advice, go here, here, here, here, or here.
Value Pricing: Real World Example 1
Anyone who reads the blog knows how little I think about the billable hour. Until now, I haven't given very many examples about how we are using "service pricing" in our business. Here is one way abandoning the billable hour has created "win-win" for us and one client (and yes, I've gotten permission from them to post this example on my blog).
First, the basics. A client has a development zoned for multi-family housing and is currently building about twenty duplexes (forty units) with sixty more ready to go. Originally, the developer believed that the market existed for selling each duplex to one owner -- who would then rent out one side and live in the other, or rent out both sides. However, economic conditions have made it more profitable to sell each side to different owners -- something currently prohibited by local zoning ordinances.
The obvious choice is to turn the development into condominiums. This allows individual ownership of each duplex side without violating local regulations. However, because all of the units aren't yet built, to "condominiumize" all of the duplexes into one large development, the developer will have to do so in phases (as many as twenty). Each time a new phase is ready, the declaration of condominium (a legal document setting out ownership interests and voting rights among the duplex owners) and the plat will have to be amended. So far, so good. However, the developers want the maintenance of each unit to be shared only between the owners of each duplex, and not collectively among all of the units as often happens in a traditional condominum setting.
Normally, we would do the work and bill by the hour. Since this is a novel kind of project for us, we could easily spend between twenty and fifty hours drafting the first declaration of condominium. Gaining approval from local and county governments could easily double that investiment of time. Amending the declarations and plat each time a new phase is ready would likely add five to ten hours again.
When we laid out the time and cost to our clients, they balked. Asking them to pay us thousands of dollars for work to prepare the condominium documents was not an option to them, so we proposed a different arrangement. For $X00.00 per unit (two per duplex), we will do all of the documents necessary to condominiumize the entire development. We will be paid each time a unit sells (and not before), and do as many phases as are necessary until construction is complete. The developer bears all the filing and recording fees, but is not out of pocket a single dime for the legal work, and will likely pass the unit fee on to the purchaser of the condominium.
Now for the best part: The developer loves the idea. By eliminating the up-front cost, the developers are able to plow previously-budgeted legal costs into subdivision improvements. We will make two to three times the amount we would make if billed on an hourly basis, but only if all of the units sell. And while it may take some time for the development to close, we've secured an income stream for the firm for at least two years. And, we will likely be retained to represent the condominium owner's association once the requisite number of units have sold. We've been representing other owners associations for a set monthly fee of $X.00 per lot per month.
We love it, the developers love it, and the home buyers will realize significant benefits as well.
I'm Back, and Think Tank Tuesdays
Sorry for the posting blackout. A family emergency (resolved) and a crush of new business has kept me out of the blogging loop for nearly two weeks. Think Tank Tuesday will be rescheduled from today (September 14) and the regular blogging will resume with several longer posts I've been working on during my hiatus. I also have some really big personal and professional developments I'll share soon.
Vacation Time
Sorry for the lack of updates. I'm taking a little personal time, but will be back on Friday.
LegalMatch, Compared
I haven't posted about LegalMatch for several months, though my LegalMatch posts continue to draw comments weekly. In a comment to my initial "Why I'll Never use Legal Match" post, reader Maury gives an unbelievably complete summary of all of the legal referral sites out there, along with his "grades" for visibility and cost.
Maury appears to work for a lawyer referral service himself, but the information seems pretty reliable. If you are looking for a comprehensive comparison of most (if not all) of the legal referral web sites out there (and Maury covers over 100 of them!), scroll down through the comments to the LegalMatch post. Thanks Maury!
Why is customer service so hard?
I closed a few bank accounts yesterday that were left over from my solo days. The accounts were in the bank where my parents and I have banked since 1968. Then, it was the local "Farmers and Merchants Bank," but in the last twenty years it has gone through four ownership changes, becoming first Eagle Bank, then Landmark Bank, then Magna Bank, and now Union Planters. The beautiful downtown building is nearly empty, with two tellers and a bank manager in the space that once housed almost fifty employees.
While I was closing my accounts, a woman in her mid-forties came in and asked the teller if she could cash a check for a hundred dollars. She said she was from out of town and visiting her mother-in-law, who was too ill to come to the bank herself. The teller told her that unless she had an account there, "bank policy" said she couldn't cash the check. When the woman said her mother-in-law banked there, but was too ill to come herself, the teller apologized but told her she would have to go elsewhere. I observed the exchange while sitting with the bank's manager, who watched the entire episode unfold but did nothing.
All afternoon, I tried to answer the question, "How many accounts will this bank lose over a single $100 check?" Certainly the mother-in-law's account. If the ailing woman has any family in town, those accounts too will likely move elsewhere. Friends, family, and neighbors may move their accounts as well. I know I'm glad to have severed my relationship with the bank.
All for a hundred bucks. As for Union Planters, are its policies so inflexible that they can't accommodate the visiting relative of an ailing customer? Are the managerial employees of this bank so afraid of breaking the "rules" that they are willing to jeopardize thousands of dollars in deposits? Do the employees get any customer service training at all?
How many little interactions like this do you have with your clients or customers? How many times has a "firm policy" kept you or your employees from doing what is right? I was almost sick when I saw how upset this woman was when she left the bank. I hope I don't have clients leaving my office with the same feeling.
Think Tank Tuesdays - Details
Think Tank Tuesday Participants: The roster is now closed. I'll be e-mailing everyone about the details, but if I've missed someone, let me know. Think Tank participant Zane Safrit at Conference Calls Unlimited is providing us a free toll-free number for the meeting along with his web-conferencing service.
I've tentatively scheduled the first telephone conference for Tuesday, September 14. We'll work out timing next week.
I'm new at this, but here are some of my ideas on how this whole thing will work. For the first meeting, when we're all on the line, everyone will have thirty seconds to give your elevator speech introducing yourself and telling us what you do. This is more of a creativity exercise than a draconian measure to keep the meeting moving.
We will have one big question every month, and each of you should be prepared to discuss the question as it pertains to you or your business. We'll take turns answering the month's "big question" and getting input from the others in the group. I'd like to allocate a given amount of time to each person's question, so nobody gets short-changed on their input from this fabulous group.
The first big question is: What one thing could I do to completely transform my business?
I'll send out a lot more details in the next week, but wanted to get everyone excited about the Think Tank. Some other issues I am still working on:
Recording the conference call so others could listen in if they missed it.
Scheduling more than one per month if the idea is as successful as I think it will be.
Inviting a "celebrity" guest to join us once in a while.
Starting an "invitation only" blog with multiple posting privileges to facilitate group communication between calls.
As you can tell, I'm really enthusiastic about this idea, and welcome your comments (public or private) about what you'd like to see. If you've missed out on the first roster for the Think Tank, e-mail me anyway and I'll do my best to squeeze you in or set up another one.
Five by Five - The IP Edition
Summer is often a slower time for me, but this year it seems like I'm getting hammered from all angles. I have six clients who all have projects to get done now. I know that being in demand is a really great problem to have as a lawyer, but I've been neglecting the people I really care about -- my blog readers.
All kidding aside, I have some great Five by Five news. In the works are Law Professor and Law Student editions, along with a Business Book edition (answering the question, "What five business books should every lawyer read -- and why?").
Up next, however, is a Five by Five I'm really looking forward to. I'm asking five lawyers who concentrate their practices in the intellectual property (IP) fields the following question:
What five things would you change about IP law and/or practice?
The participants are:
Dennis Crouch: Patently Obvious;Stephen Nipper: Invent Blog, f/k/a Necessity's Progeny;
Mark Partridge: Guiding Rights;
We are coordinating schedules for the posts, but look for the responses soon.
Tips for Law Students
My friend Evan at Notes from the (Legal) Underground asked me to be his guest today. I wrote this post, titled Five Indispensible Tips for Law Students and New Lawyers, that Evan posted today. Check it out.
Draw the Red Line
I continue to be amazed by Hugh MacLeod's How to be Creative series on his Gaping Void weblog. His most recent contribution is this gem:
15. The most important thing a creative person can learn professionally is where to draw the red line that separates what you are willing to do, and what you are not. Art suffers the moment other people start paying for it. The more you need the money, the more people will tell you what to do. The less control you will have. The more bullshit you will have to swallow. The less joy it will bring. Know this and plan accordingly.
Hugh is the guy who draws cartoons on business cards. Though I love the one that accompanies the post, the one here has this bit of wisdom, "If an ordinary person can understand what you do, you're already half way to becoming a commodity."
A procrastination fix.
I've recently read "The Now Habit" and I've been having a great time this week implementing its cures for my procrastination. I've spent most of the week cataloging all of my to-do's (ala David Allen), and using the Franklin Covey Plan Plus software with my TabletPC. However, the best thing I've done is retreated to an abandoned conference room in my office building for two or three 30 minute blocks of time each day. I set my watch alarm for thirty minutes, take it off, and set it face down on the table. I start the project I need to work on, and work straight through for the 30 minutes. No telephone interruptions, no e-mail, no secretary asking me to fix her computer. The focused productivity has been absolutely amazing. I admit I got much of the idea from former Five by Five contributor Michael Cage, who writes:
The bulk of my income is derived from writing, and it has proven to be slow-going for me to write in my office. I’m an easily distracted person (the classic “hunter” profile a la Thom Hartmann). Ordinarily, I’d set about changing a trait that was an annoyance, but, in this case it is responsible for a large part of my success. I don’t want it gone, I just want better strategies for focus.So, I bought an iBook.
It does not have E-mail set up and never will. When it’s time to work on important projects, I carry it into another office (that doesn’t have my stuff in it) to work; or strut over to Starbucks and down enough caffeine for the entire state of Virginia while pumping out the copy. In a sense, I’ve “ritualized” the entire process of writing including the tools I do it with. I’ve finished 3 major projects in the last 3 days that were dragging on for weeks. My productivity has soared. It’s great!
Like Michael, I've gotten more done in the last four days than in the previous two weeks. I'll have a review of the Plan Plus software up soon, but right now, I've got thirty minutes set aside to get some real work done.
Insignificant bits of frustration.
Tom Asaker had a rant that got me thinking about my law practice. First, Tom's rant:
I know this may sound a little persnickety (to the unenlightened branding guy or gal anyway), but here goes: How come I pay well over $20 for a hair cut and I always leave with little hairs all over my neck and ears. Sure, the service and quality are decent, but come on! The salon should really consider my experience before, during AND after my visit. Right? I guess you should probably wonder as well, what insignificant bits of frustration are you leaving with your customers? Heed Mother Theresa's wisdom: "Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies."
As a lawyer, I do my best to focus on solving my client's problems, but now I wonder if dealing with the problem is just the "haircut." What can I do to improve the customer/client experience after they visit me? I've been thinking about a few ideas, including sending a follow up thank you note (mailed separately from the invoice) that includes a quick survey -- and perhaps a coupon for a discount on future services like estate planning or something similar. Maybe even start a "birthday club" that gives them a quick 30 minute consultation on their birthday as my "gift" to them. Like I said, I'm just brainstorming here. Anybody out there have better ideas?
At least you know what your getting into.
Harvard 3L to be, Jeremy Blachman, reflects on his summer clerkship at a large New York City law firm:
It is very clear to me, after 13 weeks at a law firm, that partners and associates work too many hours and need to expend too much mental and emotional energy into their jobs for this to be a truly fulfilling career unless you are passionate about what you are doing. Or at least very, very interested in it. If the work does not excite you, there seems to be -- at least at a big New York firm -- no way to be really happy doing it. Unless you're lying to yourself, or really into the money. More than one associate this summer has said that the law firm life leaves you room for one other thing -- a social life, a family, a hobby -- but not more than one of those. More than one associate has talked about having to consistently cancel plans with friends, because the hours are not only sometimes long, but relatively unpredictable. There are slow weeks when they get out at 7:00 every night. And there are weeks when they don't. And what type of week it is can change very quickly. More than one associate has talked about how a lot of the work is pretty mindless, especially for the first couple of years.
Tips for Better Invoices
From A List Apart comes these tips for creating better invoices. The article contains advice on invoice contents, terms, delivery, timing, and aesthetics. Some really good advice for any business person who sends out invoices on a regular basis (Lawyers, are you listening?). My favorite part is the section on invoice content:
1. The word “invoice.” Obvious enough, but don’t let the client mistake it for anything other than a bill that needs to be paid. Make it big and bold and put it at the top of the page.
2. Your Employer Identification Number (EIN) or Tax ID Number. This will be important come tax time, when the client starts putting together W-2s.
3. Similar to the EIN, some clients may assign outside contractors a unique Vendor ID. This practice is usually found in larger companies. If you have been given one, be sure it appears conspicuously.
4. Names and addresses of both client and contractor. Make a clear distinction between the “to” party and the “from” party.
5. Date everything. Date the invoice (the day it goes out, not the day you write it) and list the dates of when items on the invoice were completed. In the terms, list the due date and penalty dates. If something ever goes to small claims court, the judge will look favorably on your scrupulous attention to detail.
6. A clear, itemized list of services rendered. Descriptions should be short and to the point, and all delivery dates indicated. Next to each item, list the hourly rate, hours worked and subtotal amount.
7. The total amount owed. On the bottom, labeled explicitly, bolded if needed.
8. The terms of the invoice. At the very least, this should include when the invoice is due; for instance, if you expect payment within thirty days (fairly standard), simply put “30 Days.” (You could also put “15 Days” or even “Immediate” if you don’t particularly like the client.)
As I read the tips, I remembered the hours and hours I've spent on my office's legal accounting programs trying to get good-looking, informative invoices to print with the information I needed. PCLaw's prepackaged invoices were absolutly awful (I've not tried versions 6 or 7), and the template "editor" was an exercise in futility. We've moved to Quickbooks and are rolling out a new invoice design, which incorporates most of the tips from the article. I'll try to post a sample soon.
St. Louis Blawgger Dinner
Dennis Kennedy has proclaimed St. Louis, Missouri "Blawg City USA" and I'm inclined to agree. However, what good is being a resident of Blawg City if you can't get together and have a few cold ones (St. Louis is also the home of Anheuser Busch) over dinner. I'd like to wait until school starts (law school, that is) to get a few of our student webloggers on board, but in mid-September we'll have the first Blawg City, USA dinner. Anybody in? Evan? Dennis? Buehler?
Think Tank Tuesdays
I've previously posted about my Innovation Tuesdays. I've renamed the group "Think Tank Tuesdays" and only have three more spots open for participants. We'll do a conference call at least one Tuesday per month, and I'm shooting for the first Tuedsay in September for the kick off. Some of the non-lawyer participants are Don the Idea Guy, Lori "Sales Process Diva" Richardson, and Evelyn Rodriquez. Get me an e-mail as soon as possible if you are interested.
Another Cool Idea
Not really sure how to make this work in the law biz, but here is an interesting idea from Kevin Salwen at Worthwhile:
There's a Brazilian steakhouse I like that could teach some serious lessons in as-needed customer service. When you sit down, you get a card (it looks like a coaster) on which one side is green and the other is red. When you want the waiters to bring more food, you leave the green side up. It says you are interested in interacting with them. When you're done -- read that, leave me alone please -- the red side faces up. If every restaurant had that, wouldn't meals be much more pleasant?