I handle traffic violations. It is a volume business, and I have spoken to thousands of potential clients over the years. Over time, I found myself starting to slip into the ‘seen one, seen them all’ mentality, often thinking “let’s just cut to the chase.” Speeding is strict liability and my clients usually have the same defenses, which means variations in the facts rarely matter.
The challenge is to treat each client and their circumstances as unique (which they are). This will make you a better lawyer, and it will also help you turn more potential clients into paying clients.
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I find myself using the very same term—“unsophisticated”—when describing my former client, a term I criticize below. But I use it not because my client lacked intelligence. It’s because I know she would’ve been railroaded if she’d showed up to the deposition alone.
But I was there for her.
And drilled into me during the experience was this: all I had to do was show up. That was it. Just show up, and most of the work of representing my client effectively was already done.
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Disasters can occur on a community and a personal level. They can be big or they can be small. It is a stretch to call what happened to me a “disaster,” but it made me realize just how critical a paperless/digital/mobile practice is to surviving disasters, big and small.
A paperless practice, whether as part of a brick and mortar office or a true virtual practice, will allow you the flexibility to respond in the event disaster strikes.
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If you have enjoyed my posts on client service, tune in next Tuesday (the 19th) for a live, one-hour audio webcast/telephone seminar at noon EDT. If you think those posts weren’t so great, you can still earn one ethics credit.
The program is Client Service: Effective and Ethical, sponsored by ALI-CLE (previously known as ALI-ABA), and it is $149. I will be reminding you of client service practices you should already be doing, and I will also be giving you a few tips I hope will be new. (I bet you didn’t know that the vast majority of ethics complaints are service-related and have nothing to do with a lawyer’s competence.)
My talk will be geared towards law practices of all shapes and sizes. You won’t be able to see me, but you’ll be able to hear me and ask questions. Sign up here.
The upside of being a solo attorney is that you get to triage your own potential clients through client intake. The downside of being a solo attorney is that you have to triage all of your potential clients through client intake.
Having refined my intake procedures over the past few years, here is my number one takeaway: never chase potential clients.
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A recent article on FindLaw.com called Five Ways Attorneys Waste Money claimed that attorneys can cut clients’ costs by avoiding needless motions, staffing cases leanly, focusing on the important issues, avoiding petty spats with the opposition, and being smart about when to settle.
But the article ignored the most important way attorneys can save money for their firms and clients: by learning how to write in plain English.
Most attorneys don’t believe that writing style matters. They might concede that writing in plain English can be aesthetically pleasing to the reader; but they also say that it’s not worth the time to learn how to do it because there’s no evidence that writing in plain English saves time or money.
But these attorneys ignore what legal-writing experts have taught — and what the empirical evidence has shown — for more than 50 years: that plain English saves time and money by increasing the ability of readers to understand and retain what they have read. Keep Reading ⇒
Client service leads to client satisfaction. But in a recent Lawyerist post, Roy Ginsburg warned lawyers that clients may not be as satisfied as their lawyers think they are; merely because clients pay their bills, do not complain, and do not switch to another firm does not necessarily mean they are satisfied. Unfortunately, his post did not address what lawyers can do to improve client service and thereby improve client satisfaction. Keep Reading ⇒
See our Law Technology Buyer's Guide for our top technology recommendations.
Harvest is one of the online tools in my arsenal that I constantly rave about. I use Harvest in my business for estimates and invoices on a regular basis, and it helps keep my business systematic! This is an amazing all-in-one tool that can help you create professional invoices, keep track of your time, and detailed estimates in no time. The add-ons and bonus features that come with the package make it a top choice of users worldwide. With attractive layout, unlimited clients and wide accessibility, Harvest is a great solution for business management.
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If you are like many lawyers, you assume your clients are satisfied. Oftentimes, three reasons support their assumption. Their clients don’t complain, they pay, and they come back. Each of these answers seems reasonable as an indication of client satisfaction. In reality, however, they provide little support.
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