Andrew McDermott

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every attorney in your law firm was a rainmaker?

Not just any rainmaker attorney, one who consistently generates huge amounts of business for your firm on a regular basis. The kind of rainmakers who draw clients in dozens at a time. In reality, it’s an option that’s available to every law firm, provided that they’re willing to make some concessions.

There’s a never-ending shortage of rainmakers

According to a recent survey by Altman Weil, 30 to 40 percent of attorneys are near retirement or ready to retire. What’s alarming about this is the fact that attorneys at or over the age of 60 control 25 percent (or more) of a firm’s total revenue.

Baby boomers are retiring. They’re taking their clients with them, or clients are taking their business elsewhere.

Law firms will need to adjust to these circumstances quickly if they want to retain their existing clientele. They’ll need to take proactive steps if they’d like to capture new clients. There’s an easy solution to this problem. Just convert every attorney in your firm into a rainmaker.

Law firm partnerships, on its own, is a complex and difficult issue to manage. If law firm partnerships go awry, law firms typically die. Harvard Law School points this out in their piece “Why Law Firms Collapse.”

Partner ownership encourages a cascade of partner withdrawals for two reasons. The first is that, as owners of their firms, partners get paid in profit shares rather than fixed salaries or wages. This makes partners acutely sensitive to problems in a firm because it links their individual compensation to the fortunes of the firm as a whole.

For some partners, at least, a decline in profits means a decline in pay. As profits drop, some of a firm’s partners will inevitably start to leave for better-paying opportunities elsewhere. But this causes profits to drop even more, which drives even more partners to leave. Profits then decline still further, causing even more partners to leave, and so on, until the firm finally collapses.

If partners were paid in fixed salaries, they would not care about the declining profits. But because they are paid in profits, departures become self-reinforcing. As each partner leaves, the benefits of staying decline for all those who remain.

The second problem is that because partners are owners of their firms, they face crushing personal liability when a firm finally dissolves. All the compensation partners receive in the months leading up to bankruptcy can be clawed back as a fraudulent transfer, for example, and the partners’ capital investments in a firm can be taken away as well. Partners who stay too long may even have to give up billings they generate after the firm dissolves. All these liabilities flow directly from partners’ status as owners.

If you’re like most firms, you need rainmakers.

You don’t need headaches like the ones listed above; the kind that leads to increased partnership concerns and the potential risk of failure with partners.

The easy way to attract, convert, and retain rainmaker attorneys

Spend most of your time attracting high-quality, A-player employees — the top 10 percent in your industry. Using a proven hiring methodology like Topgrading, you can attract the top 10 percent of talent in your area/industry at a lower cost.

Why is this important? You’ll need to find and convert employees with the right core competencies. According to Bradford Smart Ph.D., there are 50 competencies you’ll need to hire for.

Attracting high-quality A-players are really rainmakers in waiting. They supply the core competencies like integrity, passion, grit, ambition, etc. Having these qualities means they just need proper training to hone in on these skills and truly become a rainmaker. However,  firms rarely train employees to become rainmakers.

How to convert every employee into a rainmaker

In his book, The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell describes three archetypes in the world — connectors, mavens, and salespeople.

• Connectors: They know and keep in touch with everyone. They have a massive network of weak and strong connections; they bring people together. They’re able to connect with people and build long-lasting friendships.
• Mavens: These thought leaders want to teach and educate. They don’t want to sell. These employees are t-shaped. They typically have deep expertise on a few topics and are knowledgeable about a broad set of topics. They’re thought leaders and teachers.
• Salespeople: They’re able to strike up a conversation with or befriend anyone. They’re charismatic, able to build trust, and rapport with others quickly. These salespeople are socially and emotionally contagious, meaning they’re able to spread their emotional state to others.

This is where the struggle begins for most law firms. They attempt to force everyone into the salespeople category. But many attorneys aren’t fond of selling. Attempt to force attorneys and support staff into a role that’s incompatible with their personality, and you create rifts in your firm.

Encourage your employees to work with their personalities and archetypes rather than against them.  Ask your employees simple questions to evaluate their personality and preference. Mary Jaksh shares a brief questionnaire you can use.  

The following questions will help you decide whether you are a Connector:

1. Do you know a lot of people?
2. Do you like people?
3. Do you tend to remember peoples’ names?
4. Do you enjoy going to parties and meeting new people?
5. Do you collect acquaintances?

Here are some questions that will help you decide whether you are a Maven:

1. Do you enjoy reading junk mail?
2. Do you seek out the specials in your local supermarket?
3. Do you tend to watch trends and know what’s ‘in’?
4. Do you study the market before buying a new gadget?
5. Do you tell your friends about special deals?

Here are some questions that will help you find out if you are a salesman:

1. Do you find it difficult to sit still when hearing good dance music?
2. Do you have a loud laugh?
3. Do you touch friends when you talk with them?
4. Are you good at seduction?
5. Do you like being the center of attention?

Once you’ve identified each employee, the solution is simple.

• Give connectors the time they need to build relationships with others. Send them to conferences, events, or parties. Work to provide them with the soil they need to nurture these relationships genuinely and authentically.
• Feed mavens with information; identify the practice areas, legal topics, or issues that interest them. Pay for education, training, and support. Then, once they’ve achieved the appropriate level of competence, give them a forum to share their knowledge on your blog, guest posts, or partner sites.
• Salespeople need to conquer. Partner them with connectors, and invite clients or opportunities to your home turf. Have connectors prep them on the goals or outcomes you need and the intricacies of each prospect. Provide them with the training they need to grow, then set them loose.

Here are a few ideas to get you started.

• Create events (webinars, seminars, conferences, or events) that focus on a practice area (e.g., legally minimizing taxes). Have mavens present, ask connectors to befriend those who aren’t ready to retain your firm, ask salespeople to close who are ready.
• Create mastermind groups that are oriented around social get-togethers (i.e., dinner parties). Bring your mavens together with mavens from other firms and disciplines.
• Ask salespeople to reach out to influential thought leaders and power brokers. Then, ask mavens to interview them on a particular topic or practice area. Ask connectors to use the interview as bait to connect with a large, well-known publication that serves your firm’s interest. If you’re a real estate attorney, this could serve publications like Bigger Pockets, a forum that’s designed to serve investors.  
• Create a program where connectors can bring other professionals together. Create an environment where your firm’s connectors are approached as a prestigious resource available to those in need. The need would be determined and approved on a case-by-case basis.
• Have mavens create proprietary research, processes, and resources that you can use to grow your firm. Mavens would be tasked with evaluating the strength and weaknesses of other firms.
• Create a problem-solving team that bills clients on a recurring basis. Connectors and salespeople work with clients to identify their unspoken and pressing legal problems. Mavens do the research and testing needed to create a unique solution to solve these problems. These problems are turned over to your firm’s grinders, who are ready to solve the problem using this customized plan.

Here’s the caveat. You’ll need to be willing to share the rewards, the credit for this plan to work. Many firms are unwilling to share origination credit. Some firms don’t know how to share. If you want to retain your employee’s loyalty, you’ll want to share the origination credit. Here are some resources you can use to improve your origination schemes.

Here’s a more compelling reason why you should share, most firms don’t want to. Some firms are willing to lose $2 million in fees simply because a paralegal brokered the deal. This attitude is devastating for firms in the long term. It’s also a wonderful set of golden handcuffs for you if you choose to share. Employees won’t want to leave if you’re willing to build them up.

Furthermore, they’ll go out of their way to promote your business.

Your firm has a never-ending supply of rainmakers

You have access to eager employees who are ready to grow your firm and grow your firm. You just have to ask. Every attorney in your law firm can become a rainmaker.

You can attract world-class rainmakers who focus on bringing in huge amounts of business for your firm. The secret is simple. Find A-player employees, rainmakers in waiting, with the right core competencies then, provide them with the training and opportunity they need.

Encourage your employees to work with their personalities and archetypes rather than against them.  Give them the support they need and you’ll find you’re able to convert each and every employee into the rainmaker your firm deserves.

Law firm cyberattacks are more and more common. Could you live without your files for 3 months? 

Cybercriminals used ransomware to attack a prominent Providence law firm. Every single one of their files became inaccessible after the criminals encrypted everything and denied access. This meant all ten attorneys at this firm were unable to work as the firm bled money they couldn’t afford to lose. 

The losses were large, unnecessary, and growing. A few lines of code from a self-serving attacker created millions in losses: 

• $700,000 in billings
• $25,000 in Bitcoin ransom
• Another ransom, because the first unlock code failed
• Court costs, expenses, and lawsuit fees against the firm’s insurance company who denied their claim for lost billings
• Negative press, which discourages prospective clients and kills any negotiations in-progress
• Lawsuits from angry clients whose legal needs were negatively impacted

How many clients did they lose to this whole affair? How many prospective clients determined that they would rather do business with a more secure and reputable firm? 

Preparation is key to protect from a cyberattack

Matthew Perry’s law firm was attacked by cybercriminals, twice. Both times, his firm survived unscathed. How were they able to protect their data and preserve their reputation when other law firms fail? 

https://www.youtube.com/embed/zCMuHCYar-k”

Don’t wait to prepare. If you haven’t already, hire a security consultant that specializes in auditing cybersecurity. Then, hire a specialist to properly educate your team and set up your firm’s network and security practices. 

You need to do a security audit to ensure that your firm:

• Has cybersecurity policies in place to protect your firm’s work product
• Has intrusion detection and network security controls across your entire network
• Runs antivirus with heuristic protection which enables you to identify new threats before they cause damage, without the need for a specific signature.
• Conducts regular file backups to preserve data in the event of a breach or downtime 
• Regularly tests backups, following the schedule recommended by your security expert  
• Uses multi-factor authentication to verify identity and protect from remote attacks 
• Encrypts inactive data being stored on any device (data-at-rest) as well as data in motion (data-in-transit) 
• Protects workstations/endpoints
• Ensures that software and hardware is regularly updated and compliant with security best practices

Luckily, there are programs that do a lot of this work for you. A cloud-based practice management software, like Bill4Time, performs automatic updates and backups your law firm’s sensitive information regularly.

Train your team to avoid a cyberattack

Law firm cyberattacks are avoidable and starts with being proactive about closing gaps of vulnerability. Any gaps in your security can lead to severe financial and data loss.

Cybercriminals rely on bad habits and inexperience. They attack businesses with weak security and those not following best practices. As Matthew Perry has shown, it’s possible to meet these attacks head-on and win. You’re a highly trained legal professional — strong, capable and intelligent. This means you can solve this problem.

Don’t wait for an attack to find out you’re unprotected. Work with your security experts to make sure your network is secure, and all law firm data is safe. Trust but verify that the security protocols you are following are working to protect your firm.

Your prospective client needs a lawyer and local SEO can help them find you. They enter the keywords “lawyers near me” in Google. Your law firm appears. As they scan through the search results, they see your law firm, again and again. Most of the information they see demonstrates your ability to get things done for your clients. 

Slowly they begin to realize the truth. You’re something special. Imagine that you could achieve these results in your law firm. What would this do for your career, reputation, or firm? 

Local SEO is the key to Google search success

The majority of small to medium-sized law firms struggle with at least one of the following problems: 

1. Lack of quantity and quality of leads
2. Lawyers are struggling to close the leads they have
3. Law firm margins are too small due to mistakes like discounts, write-downs, and write-offs
4. Firms are undercut by low cost providers and industry disruptors like LegalZoom or RocketLawyer
5. Advertising costs are too high
6. They’re attracting poor quality clients, which hurts realization and retention rates in the long term

Local search can help lawyers address these problems. Using local search, law firms can:

• Increase the number of traffic-producing keywords that drive clients to their site  
• Make credibility, authority, and prestige markers (e.g., awards, specialization, wins) more visible in Google
• Increase the number of leads generated so they can raise their prices comfortably
• Make competitors irrelevant or zone them out of Google’s search results
• Decrease advertising costs by getting others to rave about your firm
• Attract clients who will fight for your attention, spend more with your firm and pay higher fees

How lawyers can increase traffic, leads, and revenue via local SEO

Local SEO for lawyers doesn’t have to be expensive. There are several low cost and no cost tactics lawyers can use to boost search results. Before we take a look at these tactics, I want to cover some general principles regarding marketing. These aren’t absolute rules. They’re simply important details to keep in mind. 

1. Paid advertising produces results faster. Using services like Facebook or Google Ads means you’re able to generate traffic, leads, and revenue immediately. The nature of paid advertising and marketing means these paid services lack longevity. Results go away as soon as you stop paying. 
2. Free advertising takes time. Free tactics like search engine optimization, review management, influencer marketing, etc. all require time to generate results organically. If results are rushed, they’re typically pretty lackluster. As a general rule, free advertising tactics perform well over the long term. It takes time to set up but lasts for a long time. 
3. Combine free and paid advertising tactics for the best results. Combining free and paid advertising tactics produce exponential growth (think 2 + 2 = 42). Both of these tactics play off each other, boosting your firm’s reputed and presumed credibility. 
4. Paid advertising can be free. Structure your offers the right way, and your paid advertising can be free. This can be accomplished in several ways, i.e., using paid ads to send prospective clients to a paid consultation page to gauge their interest. 

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the local SEO search tactics you can use to generate 2x more leads:

• Consistently build a robust online review portfolio
• Systematically build a strong publicity/mentions portfolio
• Use newsjacking to promote your firm’s pro bono work
• Pick a public fight against a worthy adversary
• Write for notable publications
• Speak at local events where your target audience is present
• Use positive controversy to raise your firm’s profile
• Local advertising via Google Ads 
• Remarketing advertising to boost sign-ups from previous visitors
• Become a career interviewee on radio and podcast shows
• Create your own radio show
• Syndicate your content to client-facing sources 
• Become a career interviewer, interviewing people your clients want to hear from

Just one of these tactics can 2x your lead generation campaigns. Overlap these strategies, and the positive results grow exponentially. These local SEO strategies can be used to dominate Google’s local search results, many of these strategies, yes, even paid advertising, can be low/no cost tactics when they’re used effectively. 

Here’s the most significant reason your law firm should invest in local SEO: Most law firms aren’t using it well. If most firms are doing the same things poorly, no wonder it isn’t working all that well. But it can. 

Lawyers near me = your firm, everywhere

At least, that’s how it should be. When done right, local SEO for lawyers will help you drive more traffic and appear higher in searches. When your prospective clients enter location-specific keywords in Google, they should see your firm everywhere. As they scan through Google’s search results, your firm and accomplishments should appear consistently. 

Time tracking for consultants is a catch-22. In fact, consulting is a trap that will eventually enslave unknowing organizations. This sounds horrible; to be honest, this also sounds like pure hyperbole. This is often the first impression people have, but eventually, they come to realize that it’s true.

The advantages of consulting are intertwined with the disadvantages. The unfortunate part of all of this is the fact that the disadvantages of traditional consulting models outweigh the benefits.

Time tracking for consultants is a trap

Don’t misunderstand, time tracking is an absolute necessity for your consultancy. It really doesn’t matter whether you bill by the hour or on a fixed basis, you still need to know how much time you’re spending on your tasks, projects, meetings, and events.

I’m guessing you already know why. You need to know that your rate is fair to your clients and profitable for your business.

Here’s why this is a disaster. Using the traditional model, your consultancy loses more time and money as you grow. This is the reality for any service business that uses the conventional model. Let’s take a look at a common scenario to see how this impacts the business in our example.

1. Amazing news, you’ve just won a large client.
2. Your new client pays upfront for 50,000 hours of work.
3. You only have the manpower to deliver 1,200 hours of work.
4. This means you’ll need to hire more employees.

This is the problem. When your income goes up, your expenses shoot up exponentially. Win a large contract, and you’ll need to:

• Spend money to find candidates to hire
• Hire new employees
• Cover health insurance, incentives, and bonuses
• You’ll need to pay for insurance in several areas
• Pay for training, supplies, and materials so your employees can work
• Managers to monitor your flock of employees

All this expense for the chance to spend more time on your client’s project. This is the trap you face as a consultant. While some consultancies can make this work, most struggle in the long-term, eventually falling apart as work dries up or continues to grow.

This often leads to burnout. What if there was a way to use timekeeping to 2x your productivity, 3x your revenues, and work 50 percent less?

How to 2x your productivity, 3x your revenues

First, you’ll need to track your time carefully. You’ll need a timekeeping software that provides you with automatic, real-time updates. You need a precise measurement — you’re looking for answers to a few specific questions.

1. How much does it cost to provide your service?
2. How much value does the client receive (in real dollars) from your work?
3. What are you currently billing for your service(s)?

Contemporaneous (as-it-happens) timekeeping is important because it enables you to answer question #1. It also provides deeper insights into questions #2 and #3.

What’s next? Your consultancy uses timekeeping to boost productivity and pricing to increase revenues. With timekeeping, you focus your time and attention on the projects and tasks that lead to profitable results. Use the list of strategies and tactics in our comprehensive guide to boost productivity.

Then comes pricing.

Pricing is a struggle for many consultants and attorneys

But it doesn’t need to be. You just need the right structure for your firm. What do you get from the proper structure?

You get breathing room. You get the freedom and confidence you need to experiment, to figure out what’s best for your business. Let’s take a look at the inner workings of this structure. It may not seem like it, but this structure is just as important as your pricing. You’ll see why in a moment.

There are a few ways you can approach this:

• À la carte. You pick and choose what you want from this. Keep the meat, leave the bones.
• Take it all. You keep and test everything. You throw everything against the wall and see what sticks.
• Customize. You use this to create your own idea or plan.

Here’s the structure.

1. Choose projects you can do with your existing workforce.
2. Identify your breakeven point. This is the absolute bare minimum you need to cover your expenses without hiring employees.
3. Set a reasonable price you’re comfortable with.
4. Close the clients you need to meet your breakeven point.
5. Keep your existing clients then double your client roster.
6. Double your price for your newest clients.
7. Keep your clients. Double your client roster.
8. Double your price again at the end of your contract term for your newest clients.
9. Repeat steps 4 – 6.
10. Replace or re-up existing clients at your new rates.

Now, let’s role play with some numbers.

• Your breakeven point: $3,000 per mo.
• Introductory price: $1,500 per mo.
• Clients needed: 2

What if you doubled your price per client three times? That’s $12,000 per mo., per client.

If you keep six clients, that’s $72,000 per mo. or $864,000 per year. It’s doable, but it’s also comfortable. With the right tools, resources, and leverage, you can easily manage six clients on your own or with a small team.

See what I mean? Some consultants prefer to keep wonderful clients and their current rates. They value relationships highly and desire to work with the right client instead of every client. Others prefer to grow their revenues exponentially.

Do what works for you. It’s tough for most people to increase their pricing systematically. It takes a certain degree of mental toughness.

How consultants can work 50 percent less

As your revenue and productivity grow, you’ll find you need fewer employees to do the work, especially if you’ve been disciplined and focused on keeping expenses low. If you follow this model carefully, you’ll find you’re able to make more money doing less work.

This is how you work 50 percent less, but it gets better. Productize your service for clients who are unwilling to spend a large amount of money, and you’re able to make even more money from those with smaller budgets. They get the training they need, and you receive the cash flow you need to grow.

Create (at least) two streams of revenue, and you’ll find you’re able to grow your income on demand.

Consulting doesn’t have to be a catch-22

It doesn’t have to enslave your business. You can build a consulting firm that’s intertwined with advantages—a firm where the benefits outweigh the downsides. With an innovative model, your consultancy gains more time and more money. As you master timekeeping and pricing, you’ll find you’re able to grow your income on demand.

This is the reality for any service business that uses an innovative model. Focus on the right strategies and tactics, and you’ll find you’re able to double productivity and triple revenue growth in half the time.

Law firm billing and payment collection can be a time consuming process. Attorneys can spend a substantial amount of non-billable time managing different matters, tracking billable time, invoicing and collection. Poor or dated billing practices can make this process even worse.

It’s important to remember that your clients want to pay for your work. However, accessibility or the shuffle of the day, may delay their payment.

Start with the basics

The usual advice offered by a variety of pundits is a solid place to start. To increase your odds of getting paid on time, make sure your invoice:

• Follows billing guidelines
• Is properly formatted
• Is sent to the right people, at the right time
• Provides clear instructions and due dates
• Clearly accounts for performed work
• Follows any additional instructions (i.e., CC decision-makers)

These basic details are easy to miss, so it’s important to verify that you’ve covered your basis with this first before proceeding with the unexpected strategies below. If you’re missing the basics, these extra details won’t work.

Strategy #1: Require 100% percent of your fee upfront

This is a difficult sell for many attorneys.

Many clients are absolutely unwilling to pay 100 percent of your fee upfront. This makes sense for a variety of reasons. If you’re doing work (i.e., litigation) that is ongoing, there’s no way for you to know how much 100 percent is with any significant degree of accuracy.

Then there’s client fear. Many clients enter into a relationship with a new law firm or attorney hesitantly. Most prefer to test the waters first and see how the relationship goes ahead of time.

How do you go about getting 100 percent of your fee upfront? You build relationships, reputation, and authority with prospective clients before they arrive at your firm. You do this by teaching clients. There are a variety of approaches, but the focus is the same. You’re displaying authority and demonstrated expertise that clients can use as a measuring stick to recognize your value.

• Giving speeches at local, regional, and national events
• Conducting webinars
• Partnering with high-profile thought leaders
• Create industry-leading research
• Write a book or create a workshop
• Create several seminars to solve a specific problem
• Become a perpetual interviewee, appearing as a guest on TV, radio, podcasts, and video

When many attorneys hear the word guarantee, they immediately assume clients are expecting a specific outcome with their matter (which they can’t do). You can’t do that because you don’t have control over all of the elements in their matter.

When I use the word guarantee, I’m talking about factors you can control. Here’s a list of the following guarantees you can provide to reduce client risk:

• An attorney available 24/7
• Same day response times for client calls, requests, or messages
• Budget cap guarantees (no additional billing without prior authorization)
• No double billing promise

These are details you can control quite effectively and won’t negatively affect your law firm billing. This upfront preparation gives clients the confidence they need to take a risk. It also enables you to ask for 100 percent of your fee upfront because you’re giving clients far more in return.

Strategy #2: Members-only bonus

Your clients have specific people they’d like to speak with. A members-only bonus can be tied to your client’s performance (e.g., paying on time, offering feedback promptly, being a pleasure to work with, etc.) and used as a behavior correction mechanism.

Here’s an example: Let’s say you’re a real estate attorney, you work with a variety of clients, but real estate investors are your bread and butter. Who do they want to talk to? People with money.

You can create, at your expense, a monthly lunch and learn where you connect your clients (real estate investors) with financiers who have large amounts of available cash. Each month, you provide tickets to the event, available only to clients in good standing.

You can create a members-only bonus around your clients for a wide variety of practice and focus areas. Here are a few examples to get you started:

• Connect clients with financiers
• Introduce clients to power brokers, influencers, and thought leaders
• Provide access to your ‘deal-making service’
• Access to exclusive in-demand seminars and events
• Exclusive members-only services and rewards

You can come up with your own ideas for members-only benefits. The important part here is that your benefits have a strong value proposition and meet four specific criteria:

1. Your clients want/value it
2. It’s exclusive to your law firm
3. They understand it
4. Clients believe what you’re offering

The hidden benefit to these members-only programs is the fact that it enables you to command (and receive) higher fees from clients. If your members-only benefits have a strong value proposition, your clients will jump at the chance to join your program.

Strategy #3: Quid pro quo partnerships

A report by Sheldon Banoff at Katten, Muchin, Zavis, and Rosenman states, “lawyers and law firms are being asked (or are aggressively seeking) to take equity ownership in their clients.” More and more, attorneys are receiving stock and stock options in place of all or a portion of client legal fees.

Is this legal? Absolutely, though, there are some specific guidelines attorneys will want to be mindful of. The ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility released Formal Opinion 00-418. “Opinion 00-418 notes that the laws, court rules, regulations, codes of professional responsibility, and opinions promulgated in the individual jurisdictions are controlling on individual lawyers.”

This is good news. Per the ABA opinion, if you receive equity ownership in lieu of, or in addition to, a cash fee for your services, you’re entering into a business transaction with your client. This means you’ll need to meet the requirements of Model Rule 1.8(a).

Will this work for your firm? It’s an important question that you’ll want to consider carefully. Banoff notes that attorneys/firms will need to discuss the following:

1. Are there legal constraints on law firms owning equity interests in various types of businesses?
2. Are there ethical constraints (pursuant to bar association opinions, state court rules, or otherwise) that preclude lawyers from accepting stock for fees in certain situations?
3. How would a jury view a law firm defendant, where the firm has a substantial ownership interest in the client?
4. Do the law firm’s professional liability insurance policies cover situations involving clients in which the firm also has a substantial economic interest?

Banoff notes you’ll also need to have an internal dialog about the following:

• Are you prepared to hold this stock for the long term?
• If a long-term hold is likely, how will the firm allocate the stock ownership among its partners?
• Would the client view the law firm’s sale of the stock as a vote of “no confidence” in the client?
• Should the stock be distributed out to the partners individually?
• Should the equity be transferred out of the firm and into an investment partnership or fund?
• What should be done concerning partners who leave the firm (either voluntarily or involuntarily; by retirement, termination, or otherwise) before the stock is ultimately disposed of? Do they retain an economic interest in the stock’s value?
• Will the firm pay the withdrawing partners cash for their interest, even though the firm cannot or will not liquefy its investment at that time?
• What are the firm’s exit strategies concerning the stock or options received?

This seems like a hassle. But the potential payoff is monumental if both sides properly negotiate the terms. It positions you and your clients on the same side instead of the adversarial relationship that’s typical with attorney/client relationships. This is the benefit of partnerships.

If you’re able to produce exceptional value for clients and you’ve negotiated well, bonuses or incentives are very reasonable requests to make. This also means you no longer need to hound or pursue clients.

Strategy #4: Incorporate ePayments in your law firm billing

If your law firm only offers one method of accepting payments, you may be making it difficult for your clients to pay you faster. Majority of clients are used to paying for services online and about 78% of them would prefer to do so. Law firms are comfortable with accepting paper checks because it has been the norm in the legal industry for decades. However, they present several roadblocks in your law firm’s billing process and delay invoices being paid on-time and in-full.

Accepting ePayments is easy with the advancement in legal technology. Legal software management platforms like Bill4Time, allow you to offer online payments easily. The platform offers a built-in payments processor that keeps your payments safe and compliant.

These law firm billing strategies motivate clients to pay faster

The wonderful thing about these strategies is the fact that you can use all four in your law firm. Use them separately, across various clients, or simultaneously with a small batch of motivated clients.

These unexpected strategies mean you’ll have the peace of mind you need to pour yourself into your work, doing everything you can to take care of your client’s needs. You can go above and beyond, providing the care, guidance, and protection your clients need.

Create the right structure, and you’ll find clients are eager and quick to pay.

A multi-national firm was under investigation. Work conditions at this firm were harsh, so much so that associates were sleeping at their desks in an effort to meet deadlines. Associates were crushed under the weight of huge workloads and punishing deadlines.

This may a typically scenario at law firms. From lawyers to administrative everyone is overwhelmed with work. Managing your tasks may seem intangible when you’re in the thick of it. Here are a few ways to ease the blow.

Tactic #1: Communicate your workload

It happens – you have your task list for the day and a co-worker has something pressing that needs to get done. In these scenarios, we look at how to address these situations.

• Partner A: “I need you to complete these docs and file paperwork with the courthouse by the end of business today.”
• Partner B: “I need you to finish the rewrites on this agreement by 3:30 pm today.”

Initially, you’ll want to agree to both. Especially, if you’re a new lawyer in the office or associate. However, taking on tasks you don’t have the time to complete could cause more harm than good. Here is how you could address the situation:

• Partner A: “I need you to complete these docs and file paperwork with the courthouse by the end of business today.”
• You: “Sure, I can do that. What should I tell Partner B? He wants me to finish contract rewrites by 3:30 pm?”

This works in person, but it’s especially effective if you send Partner A an email and you CC Partner B. Again, you’re going to have to weigh the internal politics of the situation. Either way, your co-workers will appreciate you being honest about the work you can or can’t commit to.

Tactic #2: Put the ball in their court

If you’re being asked to complete a task that will set you behind on other tasks, ask your partners outline a solution. It’s important that your delivery isn’t forced. You’re simply asking for guidance to better your tasks without delaying or sacrificing others.

Here are some examples you can use:

• I’m supposed to finish rewrites; they’re due in 1 hour. Did you want me to let the client know we need to push this back so I can work on your items?
• I’ll need this list of docs so I can meet your noon deadline; where should I go to get these?
• The client mentioned they wanted to go in a different direction. Should I start on this to-do anyway? If so, what should I tell the client?
• I’m willing to help you prepare for your case. Would you be willing to take over these agreements for me instead?
• Richard told me to focus on these tasks for today. What should I say to him about this?

When you position these questions this way, your co-worker can weigh their options and figure out other ways to delegate tasks. The key here is communication. Task management for lawyers starts with being open about your workload and asking questions for guidance.

These tactics work because you’re showing that you want to be a team player. You want to take on more tasks but not so much you’re dropping the ball on other important work.

Task management for lawyers is possible

Most of the time, lawyers attempt to manage the ever-growing-list of projects, tasks, and events. They quietly carry the burden, as more and more work is stacked on their shoulders. Eventually, it become too much and your work can suffer.

This doesn’t have to be your routine. Having open communication and adopting a practice management software with task management abilities, will help everyone at your law firm get a high-level view of everyone’s workload.

You’ll find it’s easier than ever to regain control over your time, work, and resources, no punishing deadlines required.