Law Practice Management Archives

19 02, 2007

A Year by Design, or by Default?

2019-02-10T23:15:55+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on A Year by Design, or by Default?

A bright and talented lawyer lamented: “Where did all the money go?” He was a charismatic guy and had attracted a few good cases. Because he was a skilled lawyer, he enjoyed some success. However, when profits began to dwindle, at first he didn’t notice. Then he didn’t know how to adjust his strategy, because he didn’t really have one.

In the business world, companies can’t get financing if they don’t have a business plan. That’s because bankers know that owners who run their businesses by the seat of the pants are more likely to fail. A business plan doesn’t guarantee success, but in the process of creating one, we establish goals. We consider ways to achieve those goals and how to address the obstacles to achieving them. We set a clear intention about how we want to spend our resources of time, money and talent. That clarity of intention helps us make better decisions when opportunities or obstacles arise. Sometimes during planning we have thought through the consequences of various options in advance. Other times we can ask ourselves, “Is this opportunity more likely to move me toward or away from my goal?”

[…]

28 01, 2007

Are You Getting in Your Own Way at the Office?

2007-01-28T13:25:23+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Are You Getting in Your Own Way at the Office?

Have you ever considered what role you may play in the effective functioning of your office staff? I have worked with lawyers who were unhappy with the performance of their administrative assistants, and who wondered what to do to correct the situation. I have worked with dedicated firm administrators and support staff who were stressing to the breaking point from working with difficult attorneys. Even as a lawyer myself, I learned that at […]

18 11, 2006

Business Development: Follow-up or Fall Down

2006-11-18T13:36:17+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Business Development: Follow-up or Fall Down

Recently I celebrated a business development victory with a lawyer. I asked him what he thought was the most important ingredient in his success. “Persistence,” he replied. “I just kept following up.”

That’s where many of us fall down. We attend networking events, give speeches, join organizations, and do other things to be at the right place to meet prospective clients. We succeed in meeting what appear to be some good business prospects or good potential referral sources. Hooray! Now what do we do?

[…]

16 10, 2006

Keep the Cash Flowing: Collection Tips

2006-10-16T12:11:06+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Keep the Cash Flowing: Collection Tips

A reader’s question: Do you have any tips on how to get clients to pay their bills more promptly?

Response: 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.

1. 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.
[…]

12 06, 2006

What Does Marketing Have to Do with Practicing Law?

2006-06-12T11:15:40+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on What Does Marketing Have to Do with Practicing Law?

The answer: Everything, if you are a small firm practitioner. How can you practice law without clients? Without marketing, how do you get clients? Most law schools don’t even mention the concept of marketing, much less teach aspiring lawyers how to sell their services. Selling and marketing, in fact, are dirty words among lawyers, being considered cousins of the unethical practice of soliciting.

The reality is, however, that you are probably engaging in marketing every week. The question is, how effective are you at it? Every time you respond to the question, “What do you do?” you are marketing. Every time you meet or greet someone who already knows what you do for a living, you are marketing. What are you advertising about yourself when you are not even talking about your business? Are you communicating by your demeanor and conversation that you are competent and knowledgeable, yet compassionate and trustworthy enough for someone to safely reveal a significant and troubling problem to you? Or do others feel inferior, judged and unimportant in your presence? Which professional would you choose to handle your important concerns?

Instead of marketing unconsciously, get on the road to becoming an effective marketer by following these three tips:

[…]

12 06, 2006

The Biggest Bang for Your Management Buck

2006-06-12T11:14:12+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|1 Comment

She tried to maintain her composure, but one large tear betrayed her as it slipped over the brim and slid down her cheek. “Why don’t they ever tell me that?” she asked plaintively. She had just received a positive annual review with quotes read by the firm administrator of the complimentary assessments by the attorneys she worked for. Like that legal secretary, most of us hunger for feedback, yet we are terrified of receiving it.

We have heard a lot over the years about what we do wrong from parents, teachers, bosses, spouses and even strangers. How often do we hear what we do right?

[…]

1 12, 2005

Clues You Can Use to Soothe Clashes

2005-12-01T10:43:48+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Clues You Can Use to Soothe Clashes

We all have someone we have to deal with who is somehow blocking us from getting what we want. It may be opposing counsel, but it may just as likely be our own partner or a staff member who isn’t performing to our expectations. In those situations our frustration levels mount, and some of us sneer or explode. We go from dealing with a difficult person to being a difficult person.

Many such problems can be solved or prevented if we can improve our communication skills. Here are some ‘clues you can use’ to improve your communication and reduce the conflict in your office.

1. Deal with annoyances while they are small.

This concept particularly applies to people we interact with frequently. Sometimes someone does something that annoys us, inconveniences us or hurts us, but because it is a small matter, we think it would be too petty to bring up. By the time it (or something like it) happens the tenth time, we have a big stack of grievances to address, and our emotions run high. We appear to react out of proportion to the incident, but actually we are reacting to ten incidents. Ambrose Bierce, an American author and newspaper columnist, said, ‘Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.’ If we simply address the issue the first or second time it occurs, we usually can discuss it calmly, casually and without a lot of emotional investment.

[…]

1 10, 2005

Leadership Lessons from Katrina

2005-10-01T10:55:18+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Leadership Lessons from Katrina

Together Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita brought destruction and chaos to much of the Gulf Coast. In every situation, however, there are lessons and gifts. Here in Houston as a Katrina volunteer at the Astrodome/Reliant Park, I received the gift of watching leadership lessons demonstrated before my eyes.

Usually the impact of our leadership style plays out gradually over time, and we are not able to easily distinguish which variables caused the results we received. In the time-compressed atmosphere of the Katrina relief effort, however, we had the benefit of something like time-lapse photography. We could see strangers form work teams that either dissolved into dysfunction or developed an efficient rhythm despite the rapidly changing environment.

I will briefly describe the leadership keys I observed that worked.
[…]

1 05, 2005

Listening Means Business!

2005-05-01T11:07:57+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Listening Means Business!

A purely evaluative approach to listening may serve us well in the courtroom, but it causes problems when we need to build rapport and trust with clients. Effective listening builds rapport because it communicates our interest and concern, and helps us reach beneath our clients' words to learn what is really troubling them.

1 04, 2005

Who Says Nice Guys Finish Last?

2005-04-01T11:08:37+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|4 Comments

“He was still talking about that 10 years later!” said Dan Hedges, senior partner at Porter & Hedges, L.L.P. in Houston. Hedges was referring to the time he was waiting for his wife to join him for dinner at one of Houston’s private clubs. He heard that a new member applicant was coming in, so when he saw a stranger hesitating in the foyer, Hedges went up and introduced himself. It was the stranger’s first day in Houston, and he appreciated the kindness. The stranger turned out to be the new CEO of a Fortune 500 energy company, which became a significant client of Hedges’ firm.

A partner in a large Dallas firm was involved in resolving a complicated billing dispute with a client. She suggested that the clients bring in their CPA for the next meeting, if it would help them feel more comfortable. After the matter was resolved, the CPA said he had observed her handling the conflict with such consideration and professionalism that he would send all his future business to her.

A financial planner had a problem getting a carpet cleaning company to settle up on damage done to his furniture. He had met Jim Dunn, a litigation partner in Houston’s Dunn, Neal & Gerger, so he called Jim for a little advice. Jim stepped in, and soon the financial planner received a reasonable settlement, with which he was very pleased. When he offered to pay for Jim’s services, it was a small matter that had not taken much time, so Jim said he was pleased to do it a no charge. Since then the financial planner has referred several clients to Jim and described him in very gracious terms.

[…]

Make an Appointment

Setting goals for
your life and career?

Law Practice Management

Make an Appointment

Setting goals for your life and career?

Setting goals for
your life and career?