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ALERT

Spring 2014

By Jordan Furlong

ADVICE TO ASSOCIATES ABOUT LAW FIRM EFFICIENCYI recently delivered a webinar to a group of associates

at one of my law firm clients, as part of the firm’s internal

CPD and training program. Among the advice I gave the

associates was a recommendation to start looking for

opportunities to streamline their work, increase their

efficiency, and reduce their own “cost of doing business,”

in order to make themselves and their practice groups

more competitive and effective.

This led one associate to send along a follow-up inquiry,

which I’ll paraphrase thus: “Is this my responsibility? What

role should I realistically be expected to play in finding

enhanced efficiencies in my practice? Do I wait to be

directed by the partners, or by the IT staff?” These are

good questions, with an important subtext: “Come on. You

seriously expect me to make my practice more efficient,

billing fewer hours, without the direct approval of the

partner who controls my career?” Here’s my reply:

My advice about efficiencies is primarily addressed

to associates in your role as future law firm owners.

Whether that’s as partners with your current firm or in a

different capacity (maybe running your own sole practice

someday), you need to look for efficiencies and process

improvements to begin reducing your own cost footprint,

in order to maximize the profit derived from your revenue.

Now, if you’re running a business on a cost-plus pricing

model (i.e., you multiply rate x hours, trying to maximize

both in every situation, and bill the result), then efficiency

is the enemy of revenue and therefore of profitability,

and you should try to avoid it. This would be a sensible

strategy if the year were 1993. But since it’s not, I don’t

recommend it. By the time you become an experienced

law firm owner (regardless of the firm), you’ll be confronted

with a market that rejects cost-plus pricing for all but the

most specialized, demanding, high-stakes work (and with

respect, the odds simply do not favour the idea that such

work will constitute the bulk of your practice).

So I believe you should start, today, even as associates,

thinking about and looking for ways in which you can

reduce the cost-generating friction of inefficient work

practices. If you can produce a flowchart or checklist that

will allow you (and your colleagues) to carry out routine and

repetitive matters more rapidly (and, by the way, likely at

higher quality), you should do so. If you can identify free

legal research resources (such as CanLII) rather than

paying Lexis or Westlaw to look up cases, you should

do so. If you can build and contribute to even a modest

knowledge management database so that wheels don’t

need to be reinvented every day, you should do so.

Fundamentally, associates should develop the habit of

asking themselves, before embarking on any measure to

carry out a legal task: “What if this were my money being

spent? Would I consider it wisely and justifiably spent?

Would I be asking about alternatives?” Thinking like a client

is an invaluable skill to develop, and the best way to start

honing it is to think about the client, all the time.

Now, this all comes with a giant caveat, and that is: you’re

not yet the owners of a law firm. You’re employees, and

your bosses are the owners who decide how work is done

and how it’s priced. Associates can’t independently give

themselves the authority to decide how the law firm’s work

should be carried out. That’s the law firm’s call, not yours.

Nonetheless, I also believe that you owe it to your

employers, to your clients, and to yourselves to investigate

efficiencies and process improvements at ground level that

could reduce costs and/or improve quality – and having

investigated and identified such steps, to bring them to the

attention either of your immediate reporting partner or the

firm’s managing partner.

That’s a formidable challenge for any associate, especially

in this environment. So in order to relieve you of the

burden of deciding when and where to report – as well as

the intimidation factor of potentially bringing efficiencies

to the attention of a partner who has no interest in them

– I think the managing partner should require you to

identify such steps and bring them to his or her attention

on a quarterly basis. This places the responsibility for

potentially disruptive discussions with the MP, not with

highly vulnerable associates.

The firm must also do two other things:

1. It should take into account the process

improvements identified by associates in assessing

their productivity and contribution to the firm’s value.

If these improvements reduce their billable hours,

and therefore their compensation, that obviously

would be a perverse result.

IN THIS ISSUE

Advice to Associates About Law Firm Efficiency

1

Seven Keys to Retaining Your Clients

2

Are Law Firms Falling Behind in Diversity? How Can PR Help?

3

Five Reasons Why E-newsletters are Key to Law Firm Marketing Plans

4

Tech Central: Technology Continues to Impact Legal Practice

6

2

2. It should provide the associates with complete

protection from any political consequences that

might flow from introducing potentially disruptive

changes to the firm’s workflow practices. Ideally,

in fact, associates should be directly rewarded for

helping to bring about such enhancements.

The upside of adopting this practice is that you learn, as

associates, to start identifying improvements in how you

do your work, enhancing your own ability someday to be

a profitable law firm owner, without potentially incurring

the wrath of traditional partners, because the option of not

looking for and reporting such improvements has been

taken out of your hands.

Everyone would benefit from this strategy. The associates

improve their productivity, build their confidence, increase

their profitability, and become easier to retain. The firm,

if it implements these innovations, can lower its prices in

a tough marketplace while remaining profitable, make its

prices more predictable in a market whose demands for

fixed prices become louder every day, and differentiate

itself from its competitors. Clients get lower prices,

more predictable prices, or higher quality, and maybe even

all three.

And all of this starts with one simple proposition:

associates should be empowered to increase the

efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity of the firm. In

most of the firms I’ve seen, it’s the new lawyers who are

most enthusiastic about working differently and better;

older partners tend to be more concerned with holding on

to what they’ve got with both hands. Which of these two

groups has the firm’s best long-term interests in mind?

Which should be encouraged to act and be supported

when they do?

You bet I expect associates to assert themselves, and to

seek and receive the firm’s support in doing so, when it

comes to improving efficiency and effectiveness. Neither

the associates nor the firm will have much of a future in this

new legal market unless they do.

Jordan Furlong is a lawyer and a strategic consultant

and analyst who forecasts the impact of the changing

legal market on lawyers, law firms and legal organizations.

Based in Ottawa, Jordan is a partner with the

global consulting firm Edge International. Contact Jordan

at jordan@edge-international.com, or by phone at

613-729-7171, or visit his blog at www.Law21.ca. §

Focusing on your current clients will help you as well as them.

This article could equally well be called "How to prevent

your competitors from stealing your clients." It's not that

these other lawyers lack ethics, values and courtesy.

It's just that as practices diminish, revenues have to

be obtained somewhere to support the firm and its

employees. The bottom line is that others may have your

clients in their crosshairs. So what are you supposed to

do about this? Here are seven suggestions:

1. Over-communicate with your clients. This

means, for example, learning about their

businesses and their personal lives in some depth,

managing their expectations, quoting fees or

special fee arrangements, keeping them up to date

so they never have to wonder about the status of

their matters.

2. Get a retainer up front. Your clients know they

have to pay you. They would rather manage the

cash flow than get a surprise at the end of six

months. If you feel awkward asking for money,

relax: that comes from your socialization. When

you summon the courage to allow the client to

provide retainers, you'll be surprised to learn that

most won't mind and some will even appreciate it.

(Your receivables will thank you and your write-offs

will give you a standing ovation.)

3. Project effort. This means opening the curtain

that conceals what you're actually doing for your

clients. (Lawyers don't intentionally conceal their

work: what they do just seems so natural to them

that they don't see the point in telling the clients

all the steps involved.) On highly complex matters,

give clients a one-page executive briefing that lays

out the nature of the steps that are involved, and

By Jordan Furlong

By Gerry Riskin, B.Com., LL.B., P. Admin

SEVEN KEYS TO RETAINING YOUR CLIENTS

ADVICE TO ASSOCIATES ABOUT LAW FIRM EFFICIENCY cont.

3

tell them you will report if their matter varies from

this protocol.

4. Master the art of imperfection. You were likely so

bullied in law school and by the lawyers with whom

you practiced in your early career that you think

you must have the right answer or somehow you

are not worthy. The truth is that your job is to know

how to find the answer or to make a great guess,

not to be always right. So when your client asks a

question you don't know the answer to, confess

that you need to do some more digging; perhaps

even admit the fallibility of your recommendation.

5. Treat your colleagues and staff with exemplary respect. It is not charming or humorous when

you put each other down, especially a member

of the support team. This is the way insecure and

cowardly people act, and is not the impression you

want to give. On the contrary, showing profound

respect for your colleagues and team will enhance

the confidence your client has both in you and in

those with whom you work.

6. Let your clients know that you think about them between matters. I have it on good

authority (first-hand research) that clients think

that lawyers are reasonably attentive during the

course of an ongoing matter, but that they forget

that their clients exist between matters. Set up a

Google Alert or some other means of watching

the progress of your clients, whether individual or

business. Congratulate them on achievements

or express concerns about setbacks. You might

even remember personal occasions if appropriate.

Distinguish yourself from the stereotype of lawyers:

make it clear that you care about your clients

beyond the revenue you generate from them.

7. Manage Your Practice. A disdain for technology

and efficiency is not charming at all anymore. Your

clients expect and deserve prompt and efficient

service and, as mentioned in point 3 above, they

expect to see evidence of it. Relationships are still

extremely important but not sufficient to overcome

unreliable service. There are still some lawyers who

suffer from the self-deception that quality speaks

for itself. It does not. It must be projected. Worse,

slow or unreliable communications imply terrible

quality.

Gerry Riskin, B.Com., LL.B., P. Admin, is a founding

partner of Edge International, a former managing

partner, a best-selling author, a Fellow of the College of

Law in London, and a Visiting Professor at the University

of Pretoria in South Africa, serving law firms on six

continents. Contact Gerry at riskin@edge-international.

com or by phone at +1 202 957-6717. §

By Dawn Petrosky

By Gerry Riskin, B.Com., LL.B., P. Admin

ARE LAW FIRMS FALLING BEHIND IN DIVERSITY? HOW CAN PR HELP?

SEVEN KEYS TO RETAINING YOUR CLIENTS cont.

Recently, the American Lawyer magazine and other

outlets published a few articles on the number of women,

or lack thereof, that Am Law 200 firms have promoted

to partner this year. Some of the firms named in those

articles offered data to suggest that this year’s partner

class was an anomaly. Others acknowledged that the

number of women promoted this year is low but cited the

various mentorship and sponsorship programs that their

firms have to help ensure women are promoted to reach

the requisite “years-of-service” commitment for partner

consideration.

Whether or not your law firm was among those

mentioned, public relations can play a role in boosting

your firm’s gender diversity profile. More specifically, by

having a balance of male and female representation in

your PR efforts, you can improve your law firm’s image.

What is your law firm’s PR diversity ratio?

If diversity is a priority for your law firm’s business

development and recruiting activities, it should be a

goal for its public relations as well. To assess your law

firm’s current PR diversity ratio, conduct an audit of the

firm’s media quotes, thought leadership authorship and

speaking engagements, all of which are key visibility

opportunities for your firm’s female lawyers. Review your

current and past media quotes from all sources, including

legal, trade, industry and mainstream. Group the data

by gender, practice and industry group, and office, to

get a comprehensive view of your efforts. Conduct a

similar analysis of your firm’s thought leadership works

and speaking engagements. Ascertain which lawyers are

writing and speaking, from which practice groups and

offices. The results will serve as your benchmark.

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How does your law firm’s PR diversity profile compare?

The Women’s Media Center recently issued a report,

“the Status of Women in U.S. Media 2014,” that analyzes

women’s current role and participation in the media. The

annual report finds that, while women in media have

made strides, like women in the legal profession, there is

more road to travel to achieve gender parity.

For example, the report cites a data snapshot of front-

page stories in the New York Times, finding that men

were quoted more than three times as often as women

between January and February 2013. As I read that

statistic, I wondered how the Am Law 200 would fare in a

review of the media quotes from male and female sources

from their firms.

After an audit, you will have a clear understanding of

your law firm’s own ratio, too. If your firm has reached

gender parity with its media sources, thought leadership

and speaking engagements, congratulations! If your firm

has work to do, the results of an audit will help set goals,

guide the firm’s communications priorities, and allocate

its resources.

Email newsletters – not everyone views them as an

effective or necessary tool to include in a law firm

marketing plan. However, email marketing is actually a

proven tactic to help build business. Not only that, email

messages are extremely cost-effective and provide a high

return on investment. If your firm isn’t already sending a

regular e-newsletter to clients and potential clients, here

are five reasons why you should start.

1. Email newsletters help create and maintain relationships.Email marketing establishes a regular link between

brand and customer. E-newsletters help you stay

on your clients’ radar for a prolonged period of

time. When done well, they keep you connected

to the people who mean the most to your firm

and help to build confidence in your brand.

Investing in your law firm’s PR diversity will reap rewards.

Keep in mind that, like cultivating a new partner, your

success in boosting the level of diversity in your PR

efforts might require some additional investment. Training

focused on media relations and public speaking skills

will foster confidence and help your attorneys overcome

any anti-media sentiment that is pervasive in the legal

profession. Jaffe PR’s Strategic Alliance Partner, Kimberly

Alford Rice, advises that networking training is also

important as “relationship building leads to reputation

building.”

Tracking progress on all fronts is critical. Use the data to

strive for gender parity in your law firm’s public relations

efforts, and the results can help boost the firm’s overall

diversity profile as well. So, the next time the American

Lawyer emails asking about your firm’s diversity efforts,

reach for your PR data and be confident that it will tell a

positive story.

Dawn Petrosky is Vice President of Public Reputation

Services at Jaffe PR, a full-service legal marketing

agency. “Are Law Firms Falling Behind in Diversity?”

appeared as a post on the Industry Insight blog at jaffepr.

com on March 5, 2014. Dawn can be reached at 571-384-

8408 or by email to dpetrosky@jaffepr.com. §

E-newsletters deliver great content directly to clients on a regular basis and nurture client

relationships while establishing your law firm as a

valuable resource.

2. E-newsletters solidify your law firm’s place as an industry leader.E-newsletters enable your audience to get the

information they are interested in while giving your

law firm insight into what resonates with them and,

more importantly, what doesn’t. Understanding

what engages your audience will allow you to

offer valuable content in your e-newsletters and

position your law firm as a thought leader. More

significantly, you demonstrate your expertise with

clients, reducing the chance that they will seek

legal services elsewhere.

By Dawn Petrosky

By Jennifer Faivre

ARE LAW FIRMS FALLING BEHIND IN DIVERSITY? HOW CAN PR HELP? cont.

FIVE REASONS WHY E-NEWSLETTERS ARE KEY TO LAW FIRM MARKETING PLANS

By Jennifer Faivre

FIVE REASONS WHY E-NEWSLETTERS ARE KEY TO LAW FIRM MARKETING PLANS cont.

3. E-newsletters complement and enhance other aspects of your marketing plan. E-newsletters support other marketing channels

and add value to other campaigns. Email

marketing provides instant contact for urgent announcements and releases. It allows you

to keep clients and prospects updated on new

organizational and strategy developments. By

using your company’s self-published content to

stay in front of customers and qualified leads,

you can demonstrate value beyond products and

services and become a trusted adviser.

4. E-newsletters increase website traffic. Regular communication drives measurable traffic

back to your website. Because law firm email

marketing messages frequently link to content

hosted on your firm’s website, you can have a

direct impact on website visitors. If your visitors

find value in your content, they may be encouraged

to browse the rest of your website.

5. You can measure the success of your newsletters.Unlike traditional print newsletters and direct

mailings, e-newsletters can be tracked and

analyzed using your email system’s reporting

software and your website analytics. Data – such

as open rates, bounces and click-throughs – is

readily available, allowing you to gauge what

content resonates with your readers and providing

further understanding of your clients’ and

prospects’ needs so you can reach them more

effectively.

If your law firm isn’t taking advantage of the

relatively simple and inexpensive benefits that can

be obtained through e-newsletters, it’s time to

reconsider your marketing plan.

Jennifer Faivre works in CRM and Administrative

Support Services at Jaffe PR, a full-service legal

marketing agency. “Five Reasons Why E-newsletters are

Key to Law Firm Marketing Plans” appeared as a post on

the Industry Insight blog at jaffepr.com on February 26,

2014. Jennifer can be reached at 970-596-0259 or by

email to jfaivre@jaffepr.com. §

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Lawyers Alert is designedto highlight and summarizeareas of interest to the legal profession in Canada. The contents herein are for the general interest of the reader. They are not intended, and should not be relied upon, as legal or professional advice.

info@collinsbarrow.com

Editor: Duane Chris, BA (Hons), LLB | duane@dcresearch.ca | 519-588-2602

TECH CENTRAL: TECHNOLOGY CONTINUES TO IMPACT LEGAL PRACTICE

Estate plans should address online assets

Recent moves by the IRS and the Canada Revenue

Agency seeking to tax owners of the virtual currency

Bitcoin have highlighted the difficulties of reconciling

virtual assets with real world legal constructs. Now,

bankers and estate professionals are awakening to

the value such assets may have upon the “owner’s”

death.

Most wills today don’t address such assets. With

many North Americans accumulating substantial

credit in virtual accounts like Bitcoin, PayPal, Air

Miles and other loyalty programs, the potential for

confusion and conflict after death is growing. Even

Twitter accounts are now considered to have actual

dollar values, with websites and apps available to

help track and maximize such value.

More and more, estates lawyers are looking to

inform themselves on these new tech issues. With

virtual values continuing to climb, a complete estate

plan should address how these assets are to be

treated upon death or incapacity. Full details, values,

website addresses and passwords will be critical

for executors, beneficiaries and powers of attorney

seeking to manage a person’s affairs.

Look for more discussion on this topic soon in

another issue of Lawyers Alert.

Do more legal apps mean bad news for lawyers?

In the fall 2013 issue of Lawyers Alert, this column

looked at the emergence of mobile apps designed to

assist lawyers in their practices. But are some apps

now seeking to replace lawyers altogether?

Shake could be the start. The app is available for

free in the Apple App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod

touch. It claims to “simplify legal contracts,” allowing

layperson users to “create, sign and send documents

right from your phone.” Highlighted areas include

hiring a freelancer, purchase and rental agreements,

loan agreements, and confidentiality/non-disclosure

agreements.

Though the app is clearly geared – at least for now –

toward relatively uncomplicated matters, we can likely

expect to see this type of service expand quickly with

tech improvements and user interest. Some lawyers

argue that there is a practical ceiling for the uses of

this type of service; once agreements reach a certain

level of complexity and dollar value, the liabilities and

necessary subjective elements dictate that a flesh-

and-bone lawyer will be required.

Finding that point may be the key. For now, Shake

appears to be starting from the bottom and working

its way up to that point, with a 4-star rating from

165 reviews. Though Shake is not yet available for

Android, the Create Contracts Legitimo app claims

to provide many of the same features, with a 4-star

rating from 29 reviews in the Google Play Store.

We’ll keep an eye on how this trend progresses.

More lawyer-shopping

In fall 2011, we reported on Shpoonkle, a then-new

website that allowed prospective legal clients to post

a description of their legal concerns and then sit

back and watch as lawyers bid for the opportunity

to service those problems. The Shpoonkle site is

still active, apparently allowing (registered) clients to

sift through bids to find the one that best suits the

services and fees they desire.

A Canadian lawyer has added a new twist to

this concept of online lawyer-shopping. Addison

Cameron-Huff, a technology lawyer in Toronto,

recently founded FlatLaw.ca, a website that allows

lawyers to advertise their flat rate pricing for specific,

routine legal tasks. The site purports to provide clarity,

efficiency and certainty to the prospective client

trying to understand what a particular legal problem

will cost. It claims to be “a win-win for lawyers and

clients.”

There are lawyers from most of the major city centres

in Ontario, advertising flat rates across most areas of

practice. Advertised rates range from as low as $70

for Consent to Travel documentation to $3,000 for

mediation services.

This is yet another example of the strategies some

lawyers are finding necessary to compete in the

progressively more competitive legal market.