Over the next ten or so years, we will see a marketplace-shifting change in law firm ownership as baby boomers retire and decide what to do with their practice. This is a time of high angst for those about to leave the law, and potentially a remarkable opportunity for the more entrepreneurial and thick- stomached [...]
Increasingly, law firms are learning to appreciate the value of individual lawyer marketing plans. But paperwork is only the first step. A plan is useless without implementation. Yet how does a firm convince a busy lawyer to implement on those plans? Too often, in firms that require personal plans, lawyers will begrudgingly prepare them but [...]
Partners wrestle with this question: when do we make the difficult decision to part company with one of our own? This action goes against the very fibre of a typical law firm. Partnerships are based on undying loyalty, nurturing the next partners, and being there for each other through thick and thin. We understand that [...]
Most firms understand the value of having their lawyers market: they just don’t know how to make it happen. So, they rely on the lawyers. They create a marketing plan requirement (or tie in marketing activity with compensation review) as a motivator for action. Then they sit back and wait until the end of the [...]
Business coaching provides a supportive environment in which to admit to and work on challenges and weaknesses that are holding us back at work in some way. These weaknesses rarely relate to legal knowledge. More often, they involve practice management concerns such as delegation, financial management, file management, time management, leadership, how to deal with [...]
The most powerful marketing is honest, consistent and meaningful to your firm and your target audience. Because of this, it makes sense to ensure that how we market ourselves reflects our firm’s values, goals and differentiators. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen. Some firms spend time in a retreat or hire a consultant to take [...]
It’s common that the type “A” personality attracted to the practice of law would similarly be enticed to take on leadership positions when on offer. These may be external – such as a board opportunity, or internal – such as a chance to serve on a committee, as head of a practice group or client [...]
Planning - any planning - is better than doing none at all. For this reason, I encourage lawyers to engage in whatever level of complexity of planning they can muster. If that means spending a lunch hour talking about business goals with your partners, or writing down a few goals on a napkin, so be [...]
If you aren’t preparing for every interaction with a client or prospect, you may be wasting your time and theirs. Here’s some food for thought on lunches and other planned client interactions. Lawyers who “do lunch” do so because it seems like part of a healthy marketing strategy. And it is. But just showing up [...]
Lawyers are intelligent, capable human beings who sometimes find it almost impossible to manage their time well. The reason could be that too much is expected of them; that they like to do things very well before moving on and that takes time; that they under-estimated how long an activity will take; that when activities [...]