Susan Cartier Liebel at Build a Solo Practice recently posted an article to her blog describing the billable hour as the cockroach of the legal profession. It is a good analogy - a pest that won’t die. Her broader point, though, is more important. She concludes her post by discussing how the internet as a communication tool may lead to broader acceptance (and demand) for alternative fee arrangements. I definitely believe that is the case.

In my recent white paper on Pricing for Maximum Profit I stated that I feel that the market will increasingly demand alternatives to the billable hour from professionals. You guys may tire of me writing on this subject. But, I will continue to beat this drum. Death to the cockroach!

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As many of you know, I recently switched to the Mac OS from Windows (or as my friend Grant likes to say - Windoze). One of the programs that I can’t live without is Mindjet’s MindManager. I was relieved to find out that they have a Mac version. I’ve already got it installed, and I love it.

If you don’t know, Mindmanager is a mind mapping software. If you are at all inclined towards visual learning as I am, then you need a mind mapping program - and Mindjet’s is the best, in my opinion. I use it for everything from mapping out marketing strategies and establishing my case management systems to organizing my to do lists. I attach a very simple mind map below that I use for personal organization. Each of the blue “map” icons to the right of the text is a link to another mind map with that particular topic in it.

I commend mind mapping to you generally, and Mind manager specifically.

my-life.pdf

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In recent weeks there has been much discussion on the blogs and listserves about the relative merits of the hourly billing model, and the fixed fee/value pricing model. I’ve made it clear on this blog (and most recently in this free article on pricing) that I advocate a fixed fee model (and use it exclusively in my own law practice and in my consulting company).

I recently came across this wise post by the wise Carolyn Elefant (one of my favorite bloggers). In it she discusses the often overlooked fact that when it comes down to the conflicting interests between client and lawyer, often the individual lawyer’s character may trump the billing model they choose to employ in deciding how that conflict is resolved. For all the benefits of the fixed fee model, in the end you can’t “scheme away” these potential conflicting interests. We are, after all, individual lawyers making individual choices about how we conduct ourselves and represent our clients. No pricing model can change that.

Thanks for the reminder Carolyn.

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Jack and I had made tremendous progress in a month’s time.  He got clear on his goals and vision for his firm, he chose his target market and honed his marketing message, and he created his prospect kit and other essential marketing materials.  With the groundwork in place, he was finally ready to start marketing effectively.

In our next session we began talking about what lead generation strategies he wanted to employ.  This step is the easiest to understand, but requires the most effort.  Up to this point, all of the steps we took required an initial investment of time but the results would pay dividends for months and years to come.  Yes, he would have to review and adjust his goals, his marketing message and his materials, but the effort to modify them would not take nearly as long as the initial effort to create them in the first place.

On the other hand, lead generation is an ongoing process.  There are certain things we would do to systematize his lead generation activities, but much of it would require an ongoing commitment of time and effort on his part.  Jack got the iced coffee and the banana nut muffins and I pulled out my notepad and started jotting down a list of potential lead generation activities for him to consider.  Here are the seven activities that I included on the list in the order in which I suggested he should employ them:

• referral systems
• writing and publishing (a book, his blog, trade journal articles, and/or consumer articles)
• joint ventures
• speaking, workshops and teleseminars
• networking
• publicity (online and offline)
• direct response advertising (optional)

I suggested he add one strategy at a time, and that he attempt to add a new strategy at least monthly (while continuing to utilize the strategies already put in place).  For example, we would first put into place a formal referral marketing system.  Once that was in place and was being utilized on an ongoing basis, then we would begin a formal campaign of writing, and so on.  Eventually he would have all seven methods working for him (if he chose to advertise).

Note: each of these lead generation activities deserve further explanation beyond what this article allows.  I will begin posting about each one separately from this series of articles.  Those articles exploring the specifics of each lead generation activity will be categorized and tagged “lead generation” for your easy reference.

Because Jack was launching a blog, we decided to pursue the first two strategies simultaneously.  We discussed his referral marketing strategy and how he could be more systematic about it, and we agreed on a posting schedule for his blog.  Because he was just launching it, he committed to post to the blog 3-5 times per week for the first 60 days in order to maximize his search engine results.

Although we were not ready to begin implementing a joint venture strategy yet, we began brainstorming potential j.v. partners; the obvious choice for his divorce practice being marriage counselors.  We discussed the other strategies and mapped out a marketing plan for a full year.

These were the marketing tactics that Jack had expected we were going to talk about when we first started meeting several weeks earlier.  And, although he now understood that we had to take those foundational steps first, he was excited to see how the marketing plan was coming together.  Next week we would discuss what to do once he started getting leads.

Coming Next: Lesson 5 - Follow Up & Educate

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Well, I’m a bit later getting this eBook completed than I had intended, but it is now complete. You can download a free pdf copy of Pricing for Maximum Profit from the Resources section of this blog. The eBook discusses value pricing as I do it in my own family law practice, as well as practical steps you can take to command premium fees in your own solo or small firm law practice.

I hope you profit from it. And, I’d love to have your feedback either in the comments section of this post or directly by e-mail at msherman @ lawforprofit. com.

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The most recent edition of Law Practice magazine contains an article entitled “Hours Expectations for New Partners.”  That article contains this quote, “Available information indicates that an average partner in an average firm should plan to log at least 2,500 hours per year (or 50 to 60 hours per week) in pursuit of the aims of his or her firm.”  Are you kidding me?  And, if that is the average, presumably there are firms that require more than that.  So, the average lawyer is working 50-60 hours per week?  No wonder they are so unhappy.

And, of course the most telling part of the quote is the last phrase which points out that these hours are logged “in pursuit of the aims of his or her firm.”  In other words, it’s not about the client.  Those hours need to be logged for the firm.  What if you removed any billable hour requirement?  What if the focus was on getting the job done for the client as efficiently and effectively as possible and doing so at a profit to the firm?

There’s a novel idea.

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