Solo Practice University® » Debra Bruce

What Clients Want

Debra Bruce — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 11:30:27 +0000

In 2000 Mel Gibson starred in a movie called “What Women Want” in which a freak accident caused his character, Nick Marshall, to suddenly have the ability to hear women’s unspoken thoughts. He initially found it to be a very disconcerting experience, because (1) he discovered that he had some erroneous assumptions, and (2) women’s impressions of him were not very flattering. In fact, many of them thought he was a jerk. It turned out that what they said to him and what they actually thought did not exactly coincide.

Eventually, however, Nick realized that he could use his new abilities to do research that would allow him to understand women better. He began to modify his own assumptions, expectations, perceptions and behaviors, based on his research. His interactions became more effective and enjoyable. He became more successful in his career.

Our clients don’t always tell us what they are thinking, either. Do you ever wish you understood what your clients really want? Do you wonder what they think of you? Do you sometimes assume that, as the lawyer, you know what’s best for them? Clients may vary quite broadly in terms of their expectations, beliefs and desired outcomes, even for similar cases or transactions. So it is understandable that occasionally clients may seem inscrutable to us.

Questions to Ask Your Clients

If you want clients to be happy with your services, but unlike Nick Marshall, you can’t read their minds, try asking them what they want. You probably already have a few standard questions that help you to do your job. Here are a few that can help you to know more about what your clients think that job is.

What outcomes are you trying to achieve?
Which of those outcomes are “Must Haves” and which are “Nice to Haves”?
What are your biggest concerns?
How do you prefer that we communicate with you?
How often would you want to hear from us?
What questions or concerns do you have about how this process will work?
What are your assumptions about how we will work together?
Is there anything you want from me that we haven’t discussed?

What All Clients Want

Despite their many differences, there are a few things that almost all clients want, and here are some tips on how to give them what they want.

They want to be heard. Listen to them without interrupting. Be patient and let them tell you their story, even though you’ve dealt with situations like this a hundred times, and you know what is coming next. You may be anxious to impress them with your knowledge, but your efforts to do so may undermine your relationship with them. It’s ordinary and familiar to you, but it may be the most important event in their life. Feeling heard is so important that one client in Texas was disappointed when his attorney won the case on summary judgment. That stunning victory kept the client from getting to tell his side of the story.
They want to be understood. Paraphrase the salient points you hear, reflecting back to your client what you heard. Ask whether you have understood correctly. Then ask if there is more you should know. If you really want them to feel understood, include feelings you heard or observed. For example:
- “It sounds like you’re mad because he didn’t…”
- “I’m gathering that you’re worried that they might…”
- “The betrayal is painful to experience.”
- “You’re anticipating an exciting opportunity if you can make this deal.”
- “It must have been scary to go through that.”
They want a solution to their problem or help in achieving their goal. They may already have a strategy in mind for getting what they want. Sometimes their underlying goal is to regain their dignity or avoid losing face. Some clients will state their goal in terms of their strategy, instead of the actual outcome desired, making the questions described above even more important. Since they lack your experience and expertise, their strategy may be flawed, unethical or even illegal. If you understand the real outcomes they want and the reasons for them, you can craft better solutions. You can avoid alienating your client when you tell them you won’t be adopting their strategy.
They want to trust you. They need you and depend on you. If they seem wary or suspicious, that means there is more to learn about their fears or beliefs. By asking questions that ferret out their assumptions and expectations, you can make sure both of you are on the same page. That will help avoid some circumstances that might erode their trust in you. Communicate with them regularly about their matter, to bolster and maintain their trust.
They want to feel respected and appreciated. Everyone deserves respect as a human being, even those who lack social skills, commit crimes, or make dumb mistakes. If you and your staff treat them respectfully, in addition to being happier clients, they are more likely to behave respectfully toward you. Be sure that you and your staff demonstrate appreciation for their business in ways they can understand, through your communications, your actions, your punctuality, and the care that you give to their legal matters.

Remember that clients are the sin qua non of your law practice. It’s worth the investment of your time and effort to uncover what they want, and to adapt your own assumptions, expectations and behaviors accordingly. If any of you readers have additional tips on how to discern what clients want, or have made some surprising or amusing discoveries, I invite you to share them in the comments below.

Written by Debra Bruce

Building Your Solo Practice by Becoming a Resource Hub

Debra Bruce — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 11:30:41 +0000

Suzanne Meehle wrote a nice post called With a Little Help from My Friends about the value of developing your network. Your network of friends and acquaintances can be a boon to your law practice because they can:

Refer business to you;
Answer legal questions outside your area of expertise;
Act as a sounding board as you puzzle out a tough legal issue;
Share tips and best practices in managing your law office;
Save you from reinventing the wheel by sharing a starting form for a document you need to draft;
Take care of your good clients on matters you don’t usually handle;
Cover for you when a vacation or emergency takes you away from the office;
Make recommendations about vendors, software or technology they have found reliable; and
Introduce you to speaking, writing or leadership opportunities that will get your name out there.

Those are just a few of the reasons why you need a network, and Suzanne gave some good concrete examples of how her network has helped her.

Now I’m asking you to flip that card over and ask yourself, “Why does my network need me?” If you don’t provide value to your network, it will atrophy. You can do for others all of those things enumerated above that you use your network for. I also encourage you to expand your view beyond the legal community when you imagine your network.

Why Become a Resource Hub?

To maximize your network and optimize its usefulness, strive to be the person who knows where to find the answers to the problems that your clients, friends and acquaintances encounter. You don’t need to have all the answers. Just develop the ability to find the right answers or the right people.

When you become the “go to” person for problem-solving, you get first dibs on the legal work that arises from the problem. Then you get to dole out referrals for the work you don’t want or which falls outside your expertise. When you keep helping people solve their problems and handing out referrals, you’ll have armies of people watching for opportunities to return the favor to you.

Over a decade ago, I was surprised to receive a request from an acquaintance for a referral of a reliable financial planner in San Francisco. Because I was a lawyer in Houston, that seemed a bit beyond my reach. It affirmed the strength of my network, however, when she said, “Well, you’re such a good resource. I just thought I would give it a shot.”

How to Become a Resource Hub

Here are a few things you can do to become a good hub.

Maintain a searchable database of contacts.

Most law practice management software, and even Outlook, will permit you to code or categorize your contacts. Attach a category, code or searchable note to each lawyer in your database respecting their practice areas. Make similar notations of vendors that attorneys or your clients use, such as expert witnesses, court reporters, accountants, financial planners, real estate agents, event planners, and even florists and babysitters. When you hear of a need, you can quickly pull up a list of the people you know that fit the description, to see who you might feel comfortable recommending.

Build your social media network.

LinkedIn and other social media networks make it so much easier to broaden our reach beyond our home turf. With their search features, if I received that request for a California financial planner today, the outcome would be different. It would be so much easier to identify someone I know in California who I could trust to give me a referral or to vet a potential referral I already discovered.

Offer to help find speakers and writers.

Program chairs, event planners and editors exhaust their repertoire of ideas and candidates for the events and publications they are responsible to organize throughout the year. Most are delighted to find someone who will brainstorm fresh topics and potential speakers and writers. Once again, you can have first dibs on opportunities you like. Then in addition to building goodwill with the planner, you get to hand out favors to lawyers or vendors who would love a turn in the limelight.

Keep your ears and eyes open for a chance to connect people for their mutual benefit.

Think of every problem or complaint you hear about as an opportunity to connect someone with a solution. That doesn’t mean you should be a know-it-all handing out unsolicited advice. You could ask whether they are looking for solutions, however. If they are, you can offer to make an introduction to someone who might be helpful, or promise to keep your ears open for someone. Perhaps when you check your database, you’ll find just the right person.

These are just a few thoughts about how and why to become a resource hub. I hope you’ll share your ideas and observations in the comments below.

Written by Debra Bruce

Groupon for Legal Services: What Could Work and What to Watch Out For

Debra Bruce — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 12:30:26 +0000

I previously blogged about the results one lawyer obtained when he promoted his law practice using Groupon. That post generated a number of informative comments which I recommend reading. Before rushing off to get an advisory opinion on the permissibility of daily deal advertising in your state, however, make sure you understand how the process works. A daily deal is essentially “loss leader” advertising, the success of which depends on selling additional services at full price at some point.

What Services Fit a Daily Deal?

It appears that low cost daily deals sell better than high priced deals, so look for something you can price below $150. As discussed in my previous post, Craig Redler offered a will and power of attorney at a deep discount in a Groupon advertisement. If you have services that can be “unbundled,” a daily deal might work for one of the elements. See the ABA Resource Center for thoughts on unbundling. Stephanie Kimbro gives an informative talk in a webinar in which she describes some different kinds of services that attorneys are currently unbundling.

You might agree to review a simple contract at a low rate. For example, most people don’t hire a lawyer to review common contracts like a residential lease or a contract to sell their home, when they have a real estate agent involved. They don’t usually get a lawyer to review a DIY document they created on LegalZoom or a non-competition agreement their employer asks them to sign. They might be willing to pay $25 to $50 on a Groupon for peace of mind, however. You could gain the opportunity to develop a positive relationship that results in the client contacting you for more significant legal services in the future.

New lawyers that have a lot of unfilled hours might benefit from offering a certain number of them at a deep discount through a daily deal. Yes, there is a risk of attracting bargain basement clients, but the work can give you the experience that will allow you to confidently charge full fee to subsequent clients. Even an experienced lawyer may benefit from that kind of advertising, however. When I was a solo, I gained a great new client that I represented for years by donating 4 hours of small business legal work to a charity silent auction.

What to Watch Out For

If a daily deal seems to be a good fit for some element of your practice, review the promoter’s contract carefully. You can begin by reviewing the Groupon Merchant Account Terms and Conditions last updated December 28, 2011, or whatever information is available on the website of the daily deal advertiser of your choice. Make sure you understand and make appropriate provision for the following concepts.

Don’t expect to make a profit on the advertised item. You are already offering it at a deep discount. Ethical rules in every state prohibit misleading behavior, so your advertised price must be a true discount from your regular fees. Additionally, you will pay 40% to 50% of the proceeds to the daily deal promoter in advertising fees.
Make sure your “loss leader” can lead to something. In traditional retail, a vendor sells something at a loss to attract customers into the store or website. Although the vendor loses money on the sale item, it makes additional sales on other full price items to some of the customers they attract. If you don’t have additional services that your client will want, however, you get the “loss” without the “leader.” To illustrate the concept: if you represent startup businesses, you might offer a discount on a basic incorporation. In the course of your initial appointment with the client, you may discover other documents the business needs, such as a shareholder agreement, employment agreement, non-competition agreement, confidentiality and non-solicitation agreement, sales contract, social media policy or other documents customary to the particular industry. To keep the deal to a price under $150, perhaps your daily deal offer could be for paying half the state filing fee for an incorporation, as long as you’re engaged to prepare the incorporation documents.
Limit the number of units to be sold. If too many units are sold, you will have to hire help to fulfill your obligation, increasing your costs even more. When Craig Redler offered a will and power of attorney package for $99 on Groupon, he received something over 50 purchases according to the Groupon website. Even though 50 can be a small number of purchasers by Groupon standards, it is a huge number of new clients for one lawyer to assimilate in a short period of time.
Manage the offering date and expiration date. Many companies that participate in daily discount offers experience a rush of customers the first week and another rush right before the coupon expires. Schedule your offer so that the start date and the expiration date fall during your business slow periods. Beware that some daily discount sites do not give the merchant any control over when they run the offer. That can be disastrous if it runs at a time when you usually have a high volume of work from existing clients.
Think twice about permitting purchasers to buy more than one coupon. Small businesses have complained that when the offer allows customers to buy additional coupons as gifts, some of them load up on the discount coupons for their own use. They then get irate if not permitted to use multiple deep discount coupons. They also vent their anger publicly by giving out poor ratings on sites like Yelp. The advertising promoter may pressure you to permit gift purchases, because they make more money on the additional sales. You won’t make more money from any double dippers, however, because you’re selling at a loss and not gaining an additional new client. When clients double dip, you wind up paying a higher advertising cost per client gained, or you get an angry client if you do not honor the “gift” coupon.
Try to offer the discount on something that can be easily mass produced or delegated. If you discount a flat fee on something that requires your customization, you not only lose money on that discounted project, you also lose the opportunity cost on the full fee projects you won’t have time to work on for other clients. However, lawyers who can systematize the document production process and delegate most of the work to a lower cost employee can make money on low fee projects. They just need sufficient volume. By way of example, residential loan documents in Texas run about $350-$500 for a stack of documents two inches thick, because the forms are standardized and production can be automated.

Now that I’ve primed the pump for your brainstorming, what kind of legal services do you think could fit a daily deal advertising campaign?

Written by Debra Bruce

Did a Groupon Really Work for a Solo Lawyer?

Debra Bruce — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:30:11 +0000

Last year St. Louis attorney Craig S. Redler garnered a lot more attention than he really wanted when he offered a discount coupon for a will and power of attorney through daily deal promoter Groupon. Groupon sends its members targeted advertising of daily virtual vouchers entitling the purchasers to products and services from local businesses at deep discounts through group purchasing. If a large enough group commits to purchase the coupon, the deal is on. Thus, the name Groupon. The company was founded in 2008 and its business took off so rapidly that it now has hundreds of copycat competitors. Some of the other big players in the daily deal market include Living Social, Google Offers and Amazon with its Gold Box Deals and Woot.

A Virtual Ethics Exam

Groupon grabbed headlines when it went public in 2011. Its CEO was interviewed on 60 Minutes even as I was writing this post. What focused the legal blog spotlight on Redler, however, was the question of whether advertising through Groupon could constitute fee splitting in violation of Rule 5.4(a) of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and most state ethics rules. These daily deal sites make their money by taking a cut of the proceeds from the sale of the discount voucher (which voucher is later redeemed for goods or services), rather than charge the participating business a fee up front.

Redler duly sought clearance from the Missouri Bar Association before proceeding with the Groupon deal. Since then, South Carolina and North Carolina have announced ethics committee opinions authorizing daily deal voucher programs for legal services, with certain caveats. Stephanie Kimbro did a nice job of summarizing those caveats in her Virtual Law Practice blog. The WhichDraft.com blog helpfully includes the South Carolina ethics rules in its commentary on the issue. Amber Hollister, the deputy general counsel for the Oregon State Bar discussed the question in the Oregon State Bar Bulletin with regard to ethics rules in Oregon.

Is It Worth It?

What most solo lawyers want to know before trying to decipher their state’s ethics rules on this rather complicated issue is, “Does it work? Is it worth it?” I asked Craig Redler whether, from the vantage point of one year later, he would do it all again. “Probably not,” he admitted, but not because of the clients. And not because of Groupon. He just wouldn’t want to experience all the brouhaha from the legal community again. Besides the flurry of activity from new clients, Redler’s office was inundated with about 150 phone calls and emails from lawyers wanting to know how it worked. On top of that, some of the online commentary was not very charitable towards him. (Lawyers, please don’t contact him as a result of this post. He doesn’t have time for responding.)

I wondered whether Redler could even break even financially by offering a will and power of attorney for only $99 in the Groupon deal. He ususally charges $750 for his will package. I asked whether he did it as a loss leader, and whether it ultimately paid off. “I didn’t even think in terms of ‘loss leader’ when I decided to do a Groupon deal,” he confessed. “I love Groupons and wanted to be part of it. I use them personally.”

So did Redler lose money on the deal? Or did he just gin out a no frills “Mom and Pop will” as efficiently as he could? “I sent each client an extensive questionnaire. I did a quality job for each client and gave them hours of my time. It’s impossible for me to do a plan in less than 3.5 to 4 hours,” affirms Redler. Most of his Groupon clients determined that they needed a more complex plan, some including trusts or other instruments . Avoiding a bait and switch program and keeping it ethical, Redler gave a full $750 credit to the clients who upgraded. Redler says he still made money on the Groupon experiment. It just wasn’t as profitable as his other work.

Clients As Good As Any

Some businesses have found that daily deal vouchers bring in the wrong kind of clients: the type who just want dirt cheap deals and won’t be repeat customers at full price, or folks with attitude. Redler, however, said “The people who came in were as good as any I work with.” Many of them said they had intended to get their wills drawn up for months or years, and the Groupon spurred them to finally take action.

If you’re just getting a new law practice going and you have unfilled hours on your hands, you might not have much to lose by doing a daily deals voucher program. Even $99 is more than $0. For a seasoned lawyer, however, there needs to be more pay off. The sudden throng of new clients puts pressure on the ability to service existing full pay clients, and could harm long term business relationships, if not handled well.

Fortunately for Redler, time has confirmed the wisdom of his experiment. In the past year some of the discount clients have engaged him again for additional legal services at full fee. Some of them have referred new clients to him. Even though he didn’t actually lose money, the “loss leader” did lead to additional business for Redler.

The Key: Caring & Quality Service

After viewing how Redler handled the questions of potential clients on the Groupon site, and after exploring his client philosophy in conversation, I think I know why Redler had a good experience with his Groupon clients. He offered the kind of service (will preparation) that responsible people seek. He treated his new clients with respect and concern for their welfare. He gave them all the service of a full-paying client. It sounds to me like he took care of his clients, and they returned the favor.

Before you race off to try a daily deal discount voucher program for your law practice, stay tuned for my next blog post. It contains my thoughts on what kind of legal work might be suited for a discount voucher deal, and what to watch out for. If you have already tried something like this or know an attorney who has, please share the results in the comments below.

Written by Debra Bruce

Ready, Set, Goal!

Debra Bruce — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:30:51 +0000

“History informs us of past mistakes from which we can learn without repeating them. It also inspires us and gives confidence and hope bred of victories already won.”

~ William Hastie (1904-1976)
Civil rights attorney, law school professor and first African-American federal judge

As we wrap up one year and begin the next, it’s a good idea to engage in a “Lessons Learned” process before we make plans. By analyzing the results we obtained, we can avoid repeating our mistakes and be blessed to repeat our successes. To get real value, it needs to be a thoughtful process covering all aspects of your life. From my years of experience in helping clients through such an analysis, I have identified a few guidelines that can help you.

Give yourself full credit.
First, take a look at what was successful. Allow yourself all due credit for your accomplishments, breakthroughs and wins, no matter their size. Don’t just look for cases you won or big deals closed. We tend to gloss over our small victories, even when they took real effort or perseverance to achieve. We rarely let ourselves live down a shortfall, however, so give equal time to your successes. If you finally got those files taken care of, or your office organized, include that accomplishment on your list. If you gained back 5 of the 10 pounds you lost last year, acknowledge yourself for keeping off 5 pounds.
Celebrate and replicate your successes.
Take some time to fully bask in and honor that list of wins. Feel good about them. Own them. Then try to figure out why you were successful. Did you do anything differently from before? If you can identify what worked, you can call on that ability again. Do you notice any patterns or commonality among your wins? Perhaps you can generalize the lesson and apply it in new directions.
Dissect your disappointments.
After you have acknowledged yourself, take a little time to look at what didn't go as well as you had hoped. List out your losses, disappointments and breakdowns. Honestly identify your part in any disappointing results. Don't linger in blame or regret, however. Realize these situations are great feedback and an indication of a need for course correction. By looking for patterns, you may be able to isolate the common factors that cause you problems. Then you can set out to find remedies.
Now, you’re ready to plan.
Once you are armed with the self-awareness of where you shine and where you create your own setbacks, you are ready to set a fresh course for the new year. It's a clean slate, unwritten upon. Don’t drag your old baggage into the new year, and don’t just wander into it aimlessly. Choose new goals and set intentions. Set them mindfully, knowing that you are not burdened by your past, but enlightened by it.

If you want more guidance in setting goals for next year that you might actually follow through on, you can download our “Year End Evaluation and Goal Setting form for free at http://www.lawyer-coach.com/documents/year_end_evaluation.pdf.

Plan to have a Happy New Year!

Written by Debra Bruce

10 Reasons Why Giving Thanks Can Improve Your Law Practice

Debra Bruce — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 11:30:48 +0000

The Thanksgiving holiday is right around the corner. In the tradition of our forebears, it’s a time set aside for sharing with others and expressing gratitude. Can carrying the lessons of Thanksgiving into our law practices throughout the year help us experience more prosperity and enjoyment? Here’s what studies have shown:

People who kept a gratitude journal on a weekly basis felt better about their lives and were more optimistic about the coming week than people who recorded hassles or neutral events.
They also had fewer physical symptoms and made more progress toward important goals over a two-month period.
Young adults who engaged in daily gratitude exercises had higher levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness and energy than participants who focused on hassles or ways that they were better off than others.
Compared to a control group, adults with neuromuscular disease who engaged in gratitude interventions had more high energy positive moods, felt more connected to others, viewed their lives more optimistically, and slept better.
Grateful people don’t deny or ignore the negative aspects of their lives, but they experience less depression and stress. They report higher levels of life satisfaction, vitality and optimism.
Grateful people place less importance on material goods and are less envious of wealthier persons. They are less likely to judge success (theirs or others’) in terms of possessions accumulated.
People who write about indebtedness to others feel more anger and less appreciation, happiness and love than people who write about gratitude to others.

Source: Highlights from the Research Project on Gratitude and Thankfulness

Across human cultures, psychologists have identified the “Rule of Reciprocation.” When people receive a gift, they feel indebted to the giver and want to reciprocate in order to repay the indebtedness. Givers often receive reciprocation in excess of what they give.

Source: Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini, Ph.D.

In studies on the correlation among income, spending and happiness, happiness correlated with the amount spent on others rather than the absolute amount of income.

Source: ScienceNOW: “The Secret to Happiness? Giving.”

Giving money away increases feelings of subjective wealth on par with actually receiving windfall gains.

Source: Harvard Business School Doctoral Program: “I Give, Therefore, I Have:” Philanthropy and Prosperity

Eminent gratitude researcher, Robert Emmons, Ph.D. reported that he found a group of lawyers more resistant to gratitude than any other group, except teenagers. Studies also reflect high rates of depression among lawyers. Could there be any correlation?

Perhaps this Thanksgiving can be a time for starting your own experiment to see what impact gratitude and sharing can make on your sense of enjoyment and prosperity in the practice of law.

I have written in the past about actual business rewards that real lawyers have garnered from acts of kindness and generosity. Will you share with me what you find?

Written by Debra Bruce

Deciding Where to Locate Your Law Practice, Part 2

Debra Bruce — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 11:30:15 +0000

In my last post, we looked at the pros and cons of different kinds of law office arrangements available to a solo practitioner. We didn’t really discuss how to determine the actual geographic location of the office, however. Of course, if you have decided on a home office, perhaps that settles the question. If you have the option of relocating your home base, or you won’t have a home office, here are some thoughts to factor into your location decision.

Practice FocusYour primary practice area may significantly influence your choice of location. If you have a practice that requires you to appear in court several times a week, often on short notice, a location near the courthouse can save a lot of time.If you have a business practice, think about where your clients congregate. Are certain industries zoned to the same part of town? Is there a high-tech or manufacturing corridor? Can you open your office in the same building as an important industry association or near a popular meeting venue for the industry? Even though most of your interaction with clients may be telephonic or electronic, some will still prefer to have their lawyer close by. If you choose a building that lets you ride in the elevator every day or eat in the same restaurants with members of your target market, you will enhance your ability to develop relationships with potential clients.
For a consumer oriented practice, clients in a large metropolitan area may choose a lawyer based on geographic convenience to them. Someone preparing a will or seeking a divorce may feel stressed or intimidated if they have to go to a congested central business district to meet with an attorney. A personal injury lawyer should have an office with easy access for people with mobility challenges. In sum, give some thought to the kind of clients you seek, and the ways that location may impact their choice of a lawyer.
Client Demographic Data Sometimes it isn’t obvious where to find your target clients. You can get some assistance from your government in locating them, however. Small Business Development Centers funded by your tax dollars provide free counseling to small businesses, including a law practice. The SBDC provides services relating to financial and business planning, marketing, and feasibility studies, among other matters. The SBDC will do marketing and demographic research for you based on the parameters you establish, for free. By way of example, the SBDC can help a wills, trusts and estates lawyer identify an office building close to the neighborhoods that have the highest number of married couples with small children and an annual family income in excess of $150,000.
Attorney Demographics Give some thought to where your competition is located, too. The SBDC can usually tell you how many other lawyers are located within a certain range of your proposed office.Does your state bar association have demographic information about lawyers in your state? You can probably guess that you will find more lawyers near a law school or a seat of government, but what are the practice area distributions? The State Bar of Texas, where I’m licensed, publishes reports on demographic and economic trends for attorneys in the state. You can see the number of attorneys per capita in various counties, the median income of attorneys in different practice areas and regions of the state, and the median hourly rates there. A lot of other information is available. When combined with census data and other information that you can obtain on the internet or from the SBDC, you may be able to identify a trending growth region in your state that has not yet been completely inundated by lawyers in your preferred practice concentration. That can give you a chance to grab a foothold in advance of the tide.
Small Town or Big City
With emerging technologies, lawyers do have a lot more flexibility in office placement. If you have a good internet connection and adequate broadband capacity, you might be able to practice almost as easily in the suburbs or in a small town as in a big city. Here are a few reasons you might choose to practice in a small town.

Usually the number of attorneys per capita will be significantly lower there, and the cost of living is lower, too. Lawyers I know in smaller towns describe a collegiality in the legal community that, sadly, seems to have largely vanished from the bigger cities. Many also report that experienced lawyers and judges took them under their wing to mentor them as they got started. With most law schools failing so miserably at actually teaching lawyers how to practice law, the opportunity to develop such relationships can be a significant benefit to someone setting up a practice straight out of school.

On the other hand, sometimes less populated communities can be rather closed to strangers. It may be important to have some family connections or a well-established sponsor there to open doors for you.

Most small town practitioners find it necessary to develop a general practice because their clients expect them to know how to handle everything, and there may not be enough business in any one concentration. If you like variety and aren’t afraid to venture into new territory, you can develop a fulfilling law practice. Rarely will you have the sense of working for an impersonal, uncaring corporation. You will witness first-hand how your services affect the lives and livelihoods of your clients.

Before you decide where to open your solo law practice, do your homework. Take advantage of the resources available to help you gather the facts. Attend your state or local bar conference and get to know lawyers from small towns or on the other side of the city. Ask them about their experience and for their advice. Be creative and keep your eyes open for emerging opportunities. It’s not your mother’s law practice out there today.

How did you determine where you located your practice? Any other considerations you would recommend?

Written by Debra Bruce

Deciding Where to Locate Your Solo Practice, Part 1

Debra Bruce — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 11:30:54 +0000

Whether you are a new law grad or a seasoned attorney, you might be scratching your head about the best place to open up a new solo law office. Some of you are thinking: “That’s easy. I’m going to have a home office until I get enough clients to pay the rent somewhere else!”

That may be a good decision for many of you, but I hope you will make that decision based on a thorough analysis of your options. This series of posts will discuss some of the choices, along with factors to consider.

1. Home Office

Pros: Third Wave blogger Chuck Newton blogged about his decision to cut back his multiple-office practice and move to a home office. He emphasized the importance of keeping fixed expenses low in your practice, in order to be able to adapt more easily to the ebb and flow of business. In addition to saving rent, you’ll save on gas and car maintenance costs when your commute is just down the stairs. You can use some of the equipment you already own, reducing costs for a start-up. You may have more time with family because you don’t waste time commuting, and you are more physically available. You can dress very casually. You won’t lose productivity while waiting for the cable guy to show up or cooking a pot roast. You may be able to get a tax deduction for your home office, covering part of the expenses you would have anyway for utilities, insurance, property taxes, etc. As Chuck demonstrates in his blog post, a home office is a viable option for seasoned lawyers, as well as new ones.

Cons: A home office can feel isolated. You can’t just step over to the office next door to extend an impromptu lunch invitation or discuss a legal issue. If you live in the suburbs, even planned get-togethers can seem too inconvenient. If you need to meet with a client, a home office presents a less professional image. With certain practice areas that involve volatile emotions, it may not be safe for you or your family to meet with clients at your home. You may need to travel to clients’ offices or make other arrangements for client meeting space. If you have any staff, even part-time, it will need to be someone you can trust in your home alone while you go to a meeting, to court, etc. Some lawyers struggle with the distractions of home. Family members may not respect that you are at work, and may interrupt you. Dogs bark, babies cry and junk food calls to you from the pantry. Today it is hard enough have true down-time. You are never away from your work when it is just down the hall.

2. Shared Office Space

Pros: Landlords usually charge a lower price per square foot for larger spaces. Therefore, you can achieve some economies of scale by sharing office space with other lawyers. You can also share equipment, such as copiers, scanners and phone systems. You may share staff costs as well, but that can get complicated pretty quickly. If you choose to share space with lawyers who have different practice areas, but who serve a similar target audience, they can be a good referral source.

Cons: If you share staff, for some reason, differences of opinion about work performance and duties tend to be more irritating in an office-sharing arrangement than in a partnership. In many jurisdictions you will need to take significant steps to make it clear that the office mates are not partners, which can create a less than optimal image. The phone will probably be answered with a generic and rather sterile greeting of “Law Office.” Lease negotiations can be a nightmare because too many people have to read and sign off on the documents. At renewal time, the nightmare can get worse as some office mates waffle and delay decisions about whether they will continue the arrangement. Maintaining client confidentiality and other ethical responsibilities can be more difficult with several law firms under one roof.

3. Subleased Space

Pros: This is another version of shared office space, only you don’t have a direct lease with the building owner. Your landlord is another law firm. In a slow economy many law firms may cut their employee count, but they can’t reduce their office space due to a long-term lease. Sometimes a law firm will offer free or cheap space to new lawyers or laid-off lawyers to give them time to build up some clients. Even if you pay full rent, you’ll get the benefit of amenities, such as a kitchen, receptionist, conference rooms, equipment, and sometimes even furniture, usually at a significant discount to the pro-rata cost. Since you are right down the hall, you stay top-of-mind for referrals. The other lawyers may be more likely to pass on to you a matter that is too small for their firm, or that doesn’t fit their expertise. As they develop familiarity with you and confidence in your work, the relationship might ripen into an employment or partnership situation, if you are interested.

Cons: As a subtenant, your rights are derivative of the rights of the main tenant. If they don’t pay the rent, you can be evicted. In a low cost or free arrangement, the law firm you sublease from will probably reserve the right to kick you out whenever they need the space, on rather short notice. Even if you have a sublease for a set period of time, when their lease ends, your lease ends. At the end of the lease they may move or reduce the size of their space, without regard to your needs or preferences, requiring you to find a new location. As a mere subtenant, you probably won’t have any say over the performance of staff, even though they may sometimes interact with your clients. You’ll still have most of the other disadvantages of shared office space, and it may be even more difficult to distinguish your separate status from the larger firm.

4. Executive Suite

Pros: You have cost efficiencies of shared space, and a full-time receptionist to answer the phone and greet clients. Office furniture may be included. The term of your lease is not dependent on the term of any other tenant’s lease. Professional management deals with most of the equipment maintenance, staff performance issues and problems with other tenants. You have your own direct telephone line, and the receptionist answers with the name of your firm. The other tenants may be non-lawyers who can use your services and make referrals to you. Usually executive suites are located in desirable business locations.

Cons: You have no control over who your suite mates are, and they may change frequently. There may be upcharges for using the amenities, such as the copier or conference rooms. You do not set the policies or operating hours of the larger office. You will need to book conference rooms in advance, and they could be in high demand. While the reception area is usually nicely appointed, the individual offices may be rather small and plain. In an office situation that includes non-lawyers, the personnel may not have proper appreciation for client confidentiality and other ethical responsibilities of lawyers.

5. Home Office + Office Hoteling

Pros: Office hoteling packages allow you to work from a remote location most of the time, while maintaining a business mailing address, a building directory listing and a phone line with reception services. It gives the outward appearance of a brick and mortar office, at reduced cost because you only use it when you need it. You can reserve an on-premises conference room to meet with clients or an office to work in, but you don’t have a specific office assigned to you. Business machines such as printers, copiers and faxes are available. Notaries and administrative services may also be available.

Cons: Since the concept works on the expectation that only some of the tenants will book offices at any one time, an office might not be available to you during peak usage. Office hoteling will also have most of the same issues as executive suites. Because you do not have the same office each time, however, you will not be able to use your own printer or copier. Lawyers should be aware that modern copiers and printers have a buffer that temporarily stores images that are copied or printed. Therefore, copies of confidential client documents could be accessed from a public machine.

Please share your thoughts and experiences regarding these different office arrangements in the comments below. Chime in with additional pros and cons.

In Part 2, I’ll talk about choosing the geographic location of your office.

Written by Debra Bruce

Keeping the Cash Flowing: A Dozen Tips for Getting Clients to Pay More Promptly

Debra Bruce — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 11:30:55 +0000

One of my readers asked for advice on how to get clients to pay their bills. Cash flow is important to the success of every business, yet many lawyers do not design their practice to assure that collections flow in smoothly and regularly. The measures appropriate for your firm may depend upon the size of your clients, the type of clients you serve, and the types of matters you handle for them.

As you read through the suggestions below, think about how you might experiment with some of them or adapt them to your needs. Some may be new ideas for you, and others may be familiar ones that you have just gotten out of the habit of doing.

Get a retainer in advance. Hold a retainer equal to one month’s fees in trust until application against the final invoice. Invoice the client each month for the current work. If the client has not paid the first invoice by the time you are sending out the second invoice, notify the client that work will be suspended until the account is brought up to date. Certain practice areas tend to attract a high level of clients with poor payment patterns. Practitioners may want to charge the entire fee up front for such services, or provide in the engagement agreement that the initial fee installment applies to the first stage of the engagement. Provide that the engagement will be put on hold or terminated until the fee for each next stage is paid in advance. Unless you can and will terminate the representation as soon as the client falls behind in payment, don’t lower your retainer to make it more affordable. A client who can’t afford to pay before you render services is not likely to become more able to pay after they have already received them.
Grade your clients and prospects. If your prospective client balks about paying a retainer, ask why and proceed with caution. If the client fully intends to pay the bill, why is there a concern about paying some portion in advance? Can the client really afford your services? If the client has a trust issue, is there something about you that created that fear? If not, do you want an overly suspicious client? Difficult clients (Ds and Fs) take our time and attention away from better serving our ideal clients (As and Bs), and then often pay slowly. As scary as the idea may sound, you can often improve your productivity, revenues and cash flow by firing current D and F clients or declining prospective clients who have unrealistic expectations, demanding attitudes, or bad habits.
Scrub your invoices. If your client is an insurance company or a corporation that uses multiple legal service providers, make sure your invoices follow their invoicing guidelines. Review the invoice carefully to be certain that it describes everything you have done for them. Even if you discount or write off some fees, include the description with an indication of the discount or “no charge.” Instead of lowering your rates for family and friends, let them know the value of what they are getting by charging your regular rates, then applying a “Family and Friend Discount” which you note on the invoice. Don’t nickel and dime your clients for small items they consider to be overhead, like faxes, copies, long distance, overtime for staff, and in some cases, conferences among lawyers in your firm. Let your invoice be a marketing tool by describing the benefit of each service provided. Instead of “draft revisions to contract,” say “crafted revisions to buyer’s proposed contract language to reduce post-closing liability risks of seller.” Clients are more willing to promptly pay invoices when they understand the value they have received.
Make it easy for the client to pay. Enclose a return envelope with your invoice. Contact the client’s accounts payable department in advance and find out their needs, and what facilitates prompt payment. They may have a certain time of the month when they pay invoices. If yours comes in just after that date, you may have to wait an additional 30 days. Write down the names of the persons you speak to and build relationships with them. They may have the ability to influence which invoices get paid first when times are tough, or to help you if you call about not getting paid. For small business or “consumer” clients, consider accepting credit cards or at least have a PayPal account or automatic withdrawal process. Provide in your engagement agreement that you will charge their credit card or process the withdrawal for the full amount of the invoice 10 days after sending it out. Alternatively, you can request post-dated checks which you deposit monthly against the invoice balance.
Don’t surprise your clients. Have a clear, written statement about your rates and your billing policies. If a bill is going to be higher than usual, or events have taken a turn for the worse, contact your client to let them know how it will likely affect the outcome of their matter and the bill. They may want to adjust some other strategies to keep costs or risks within their budget. Every time I have heard interviews of General Counsel, they have described surprises as their pet peeve. Don’t let your bill be one.
Under-promise and over-deliver. When giving estimates, tell clients the high end of your expectations about price and delivery time, not the low end. Most clients don’t know what to expect until you set their expectations, so make them ones you can meet. If the fee turns out to be equal to your high estimate, they are satisfied because their expectations were met. If you bring it in at anything under that, you are a hero. By contrast, if you tell them a range, they tend to be merely satisfied if you bring it in below the top estimate, or disappointed if it is higher than the lowest estimate. Don’t try to woo a new client with a low estimate. Bargain shoppers often make unsophisticated clients with unrealistic expectations, and they will desert you for the next low bidder.
Consider delivering invoices in person for significant clients. Call them to say “We’re mailing invoices today. I would like to schedule lunch (off the clock) later in the week to go over your questions and discuss our progress.” In addition to helping get your invoice paid more readily, this gives you a chance to enhance your relationship with the client. You may learn of additional needs that your firm can service. Sometimes when clients pay slowly, it is a passive-aggressive way of communicating their dissatisfaction. Ask for feedback about your services, and listen carefully.
Create prompt payment incentives or slow payment disincentives. Give a discount for payment within 10 days. Offer a guaranteed completion date or a fixed fee for advance payment. (Include a refund of a percentage of the fee for each day that you miss the deadline.) For a “consumer” practice, offer a small gift like a paid filing fee, a copy of a useful book or a flash drive with the firm logo for fees paid in less than 20 days. Apply an interest charge to any fee not paid within 30 days (make sure the interest rate is specified in a written agreement signed by the client to avoid usury issues). Contact a slow paying client to remind them that the next invoice will include interest on the unpaid balance. I often received a check soon after such a reminder call.
Get collateral. Sometimes you know the client may have difficulty paying the fee if the transaction doesn’t close or they lose the litigation. Ask for collateral for the fee obligation before beginning work. This is particularly important if the client is at risk of filing for bankruptcy protection, either out of necessity or as a strategy in litigation or negotiation.
Get a promissory note. If despite your best efforts and the client’s best intentions, the client is unable to pay the full bill on time, offer a promissory note arrangement to the client. Once you set up installment payments, you will at least get a portion of the fee each month, instead of having the clients avoid you or stonewall you because they can’t make the full payment. If possible, set up automatic withdrawals or a credit card charging schedule to fund the note payments as they come due. It is also usually easier to get a judgment on a promissory note, if that becomes necessary.
Send a "thank you for the project" email. Include a short note saying, "By the way, the check hasn't arrived in the mail yet, I was wondering when you mailed it?" If you don't get a response, call the main office phone number and ask for the fax number or email address of the Accounts Payable department. Send a polite note to the AP office explaining that, "I'm afraid that this invoice may have been lost in the shuffle. It's several days past due. Please update me on the status when you have time." Often you'll get a polite phone call or email with a notation about the "paid" status. Make sure you note all of the dates and times you've called and keep copies of all of your correspondence. [This suggestion came from a reader, whose name was not recorded, unfortunately.]
Be the squeaky wheel. If payment does not arrive on time, promptly have your bookkeeper or admin call to make sure the invoice was received, and to inquire whether there are any obstacles to payment. If payment is not soon received, give a call directly to your contact to inquire as to whether there are any concerns about the service or questions about the invoice resulting in the slow payment. You can ask your contact for assistance in getting the invoice paid. Until the invoice gets paid, have a system for regularly reminding about the unpaid amount. Squeaky wheels really do get more grease.

If you have had success with other ideas for collecting fees more quickly, please share them in the comments. I’ll express my gratitude by offering a free half-hour coaching session to the person who submits the best new idea on the posting date of this blog post.

Written by Debra Bruce

How Lawyers Can Handle Bad Reviews and Complaints on Social Media

Debra Bruce — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 11:29:54 +0000

When I spoke recently at the State Bar of Texas annual meeting about social media success stories for lawyers, I got a familiar question: “What should I do if someone trashes me online in social media?”

Almost every lawyer has experienced a client with unreasonable expectations, or one who got bad results because of their own bad behavior or bad facts. I can’t even count how many different people over the years that I have heard claim that they got cheated in their divorce settlement because their lawyer was in cahoots with the other side. (None of them told a credible story.) The difference today is that they can widely publicize their opinions and dissatisfaction online. I have been taken aback by the vituperative language used in anonymous comments to blogs and news posts. Given these common occurrences today, there is a definite risk that someday you will face an unfavorable rating or an untrue statement about your services online.

Some attorneys cite fear of negative comments as a reason for eschewing social media altogether. They are uniformed, however. Ratings and comments can be posted about your legal services on many sites whether you engage social media or not. If you don’t play, you won’t know what they say. It’s a good idea to check for your name and rating from time to time on various sites such as www.AVVO.com, www.LawyerRatingz.com , www.mojopages.com, and www.yelp.com . This is particularly important if you work in a consumer oriented practice, such as family/domestic, personal injury or criminal law, which are among the areas of practice that have the highest level of malpractice claims and grievances filed.

What Not to Do

Don’t lash out online at the complainer or take a defensive posture. That will fan the flames and may draw out posts by lawyer-haters piling on. At best, you will appear to be wallowing in the mud with the swine. (To mix a few metaphors.)

When you don’t have to pay legal fees, you might be tempted to file a libel action against the person publishing ugly things about you. Cool your jets and consider the likely consequences, however. So far, most of the defamation lawsuits filed as a result of comments in social media have garnered a lot of negative publicity for the defamation claimant, but no compensation.

Consider the following examples:

In 2009, California dentist Yvonne Wong sued a patient and Yelp for defamation based on a negative review posted on Yelp.com. In 2011 the dentist was ordered to pay more than $80,000 in attorney’s fees to Yelp and the patient under California’s anti-SLAPP law. The court held that the Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) statute applied because the posting referenced the use of mercury fillings, furthering discussion of an issue of public interest.

In 2007, lawyers John Henry Browne and Alan Wenokur sued Avvo.com. Among other claims, Browne alleged that his rating of 5.7 out of 10 damaged his reputation. U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik held that the ratings were opinions protected by the First Amendment, and dismissed the case. In Googling each lawyer’s name, I found hits about their lawsuit against Avvo for their mediocre rankings, prominently displayed on the first page of results. Did they really want to draw first page attention to those ratings?

In 2009, Horizon Group Management sued a tenant for $50,000 for tweeting “…Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks it’s okay.” The tenant only had 20 followers on Twitter at the time, so almost no one would have noticed the tweet. Horizon’s lawsuit brought on a firestorm of criticism and national publicity, however, undoubtedly causing more damage to its reputation than the tweet. In 2010 the court dismissed Horizon’s lawsuit, holding that the tweet was too vague to be actionable.

What Can You Do?

The cheapest, quickest, and probably most effective thing you can do is to ask your happy clients to post reviews describing their positive experiences with you. As the positive reviews come in, the negative review will scroll out of sight. It may even wind up giving credibility to the glowing reviews, as the “exception that proves the rule.” Note that today on dentist Wong’s Yelp page the positive reviews significantly outnumber the negative ones. (The review that is the subject of the lawsuit appears to have been modified or removed.) Isn’t that more effective anyway?

In addition to, or in lieu of that, consider addressing the comment with a gracious apology or regret for their dissatisfaction, appreciation for the feedback, and an invitation to address the matter with the complainant personally. For examples of some good online customer diplomacy, see responses by “Josh, Intuit Product Manager” to complaints on Amazon.com about QuickBooks.

If the flaming occurs on Twitter, take some customer service tips from the playbook of Delta Airlines at http://twitter.com/#!/DeltaAssist. Sympathize, apologize and invite them to DM you (a direct message in a private conversation) so that you can address the problem. For more details about Delta’s proactivity online, read How Delta connected the dots between social media and customer service.

When a reader sees your sincere and gracious response, evidencing your effort to understand the client’s concern and find a solution, it will take some of the sting out of the client’s indictment. It might even convince prospective clients that you are the kind of caring and dedicated lawyer they want to work with.

Finally, it may sound masochistic, but have some gratitude for the complainers. They’re letting you know what you can do better. Most unhappy clients just go away and tell everyone except you about what you need to improve.

Written by Debra Bruce