What lessons have you learned?

I read an interesting post today on the Commute by Bike blog: “5 Things I wish I knew when I first started Bike Commuting.” I would add a sixth, but all the same I was struck by how easily these bicycle commuting lessons apply for lawyers:

1. Route. Plan your route. Know where you want to go and how to get there and what you need to do to move in the right direction. There’s plenty of strategy and business planning resources for lawyers. Read them, then write your own plan. It doesn’t have to be complicated, it doesn’t have to account for every contingency, it doesn’t have to take two weeks of reflection and drafting and editing. It does have to set goals, realistic, achievable, measurable goals. It does have to understand the clients you want, the work they need, and your ability to perform that work. Plan your route so you don’t end up someplace you don’t want to be.
   
   
2. There are some things you shouldn’t economize on. This applies to a wide range of things, from technology to confidentiality to security. It also applies to your time: be frugal, but don’t skimp. Obviously your time is your most valuable asset (even if it shouldn’t be your entire business model), but that doesn’t mean that you should be afraid to spend big on the right things, even when you’re not getting paid for it (see item 3).
   
   
3. A little maintenance goes a long way. Client relationships are like any other relationship. They require work. Not just providing good legal advice. Not just responding to phone calls and emails and questions. Not just making sure that the contracts are signed and the payments are made. Of course you need to do all of those things. But you also need to maintain the relationship, to show your clients how important they are, to ask them how you are performing, to address their concerns and understand their objectives.
   
   
4. Don’t undertake vehicles. Yes, this one took some deciphering: “undertake” apparently means “pass on the right.” So how does this apply to lawyers? It means you need to be where your potential clients can see you. Maybe it’s time to start a blog. Or join the French-American Chamber of Commerce. Or give a talk on the Tax Code. Whatever you do, the first step is figuring out where you clients are, because that’s right where you need to be.
   
   
5. Shop around. Another lesson that could apply to a number of situations, but here’s a valuable one: shopping around with respect to your clients is a great way to make sure you’re doing the work that you want to do, that you’re providing the value that you want to provide, that you’re engaged and committed and passionate about helping your clients, because they are clients that you know you want to have. Sometimes it isn’t practical, but when it is, working for clients that you like and respect will help ensure that you deliver value in everything that you do.

What’s the sixth lesson I learned from bike commuting? “Get on the bike.” The most important step in commuting on a bike is riding the bike, and the most important step in managing your law practice is, well, managing your practice. So get on it.

Are you exploring Social Media?

What are you doing to market your practice with social media? How are you telling your story? What are your objectives? Are you meeting them?

There's no doubt that social media is revolutionizing PR, marketing, and internal communications across industries, and that the legal profession finds itself directly in the mix. Are you keeping up with the changes or getting left behind? Blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and many more social networking tools are out there. Social media can no longer be considered a fad: it is the method that millions of people use to communicate via multiple channels with specific audiences.

But if the tools for communicating have changed, the rules of communication are the same as they have always been. You need a message. You need a plan. You need disciplined execution if you are going to generate value from your social media activities.

I recently participated with Mike Driehorst of Diamond Communications in a panel discussion for a group of lawyers and legal professionals at a joint Legal Marketing Association-Ohio and Association of Legal Administrators luncheon in Toledo, Ohio. Our goal was to place the basic social media and social networking concepts into the context of the legal profession, and to provide our audience with an overview of what they need to do to get started in social media. How do you think we did? Did we leave anything out? We would love your feedback on how we can make this presentation even more relevant to lawyers seeking to embrace social media. Leave us a comment. Send us an email. Track us down on Twitter. We're all ears.

Embracing Social Media

View more presentations from Lance Godard.

What are your extraordinary measures?

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. No one would dispute that these are extraordinary times for the legal profession. Or that the landscape in 12 months will look radically different than it does today. So what are your extraordinary measures? Are you thinking about your business model? How it meets your clients’ needs (and not just your own)? How it could give you a competitive advantage? Could you change the way you do business now? Would you want to? Can you envision a different model for your firm, your practice, the entire legal profession? What could you do today that will help your practice evolve, survive, and dominate?

Could you do away with the billable hour? Of course you could, like some firms have already done and many more will do. Could you outsource your low-end commodity work? Of course you could, reducing the costs for your clients at the same time as you focus your work on analyzing the business implications of their legal issues, giving them more valuable advice that will make their businesses better. Could you offer work at an annual fee, not just a flat fee but a flat fee that covers a full year's worth of work, as Jay Shepherd recently suggested in a post on Twitter? Of course you could, gaining both a happier client and an invaluable perspective on her business, motivation, personal and professional goals, successes and failures because she never has to look at the clock when she picks up the phone. Could you stop charging your clients for research and due diligence? Of course you could. Could you develop a long-term training program for your clients to teach them how to do work for which they have to pay you today? Of course you could.

You could do all of these things, and many others, to change your business model, survive the current economic crisis, and grow your practice as others fall by the wayside. To make your clients happier, reduce their legal costs, and provide them with advice that will help them run their businesses. Or you could do nothing, and let your competition eat your lunch. The choice is yours.

What do you say to new clients?

What do you tell every new client before you start working for them? Here's how your peers are answering that question in their 22 Tweets interviews

Jeena R. Belil (@jeenabelil): That no outcome is guaranteed and that settling a matter is not the same as losing the case.

Kelly Phillips Erb (@taxgirl): Not to be scared of tax. While it’s important to try to get it right the 1st time, there’s practically nothing that can’t be fixed.

Adrianos Facchetti (@adrianos): “I will always you tell you the truth even when you don’t want to hear it.”

Scott F. Gibson (@TradeSecretLaw): I will always shoot straight with you, even when you would rather hear something else. We want to be your attorneys for life.

Andrea Goldman (@andreagoldman): My job is to take a disaster in your life and turn it into something you can move on from. A lawsuit is not a good way to make $$.

Thomas L. McLain (@tommclain): Besides that I actually expect to get paid for my work?? I’m”all-in.” I often dream up ideas for your business. The more successful you are, the more you can afford to pay me ;)

Michael J. McSunas (@AdLawGuy): Look at me as someone who will help you lower your risks and costs, Always get things in writing too!

D. Jill Pugh (@djillpugh): Civil litigation is a slow process; be proud of yourself for sticking up for your rights, you are setting a good example

Christopher J Sherliker (@London_Law_Firm): “What are you trying to achieve?” - Until you know the answer to that one you cannot hope to give an effective service.

Tyson Snow (@tysonsnow): I’m a litigator; I tell the truth: litigation is hard, real hard, but often necessary. We’ll get there but it will tough.

Christian Stegmaier (@cstegmaier): My mission/promise is this: I am going to be diligent, deliberate, decisive, responsive, & reliable.

Are you helping others prepare for the future?

My last question on every 22 Tweets interview is always the same: "What advice do you have for people going to law school today?" Here's some of the valuable advice the lawyers I've interviewed are giving:

Venkat Balasubramani (@vbalasubramani): tech-internet lawyer

put in 110% percent, but realize there’s much more to life than law..also, don’t listen to the crowd/echo chamber

Nicole Black (@nikiblack): lawyer and legal technology consultant

Your law degree is just one weapon in your arsenal. A law degree does not limit your options-it expands them.

Kelly Erb (@taxgirl): tax lawyer

Life changes constantly. Don’t get sucked into the idea that any single moment, course or grade will define you.

I say that having gotten my lowest grade in law school… in tax law.

Dan Harris (@danharris) international lawyer

I would say don’t go to law school unless you know what you want to do with the degree once U have it.

Erik Heels (@erikjheels): trademark, domain name and patent lawyer

Be yourself. That’s what my mentor (Tom Bohan of http://mtcforensics.com) told me. Be yourself, and you’ll be fine.

Marshall Isaacs (@marshallrisaacs): tenacious, unrepentant litigator, negotiator and draftsman

Don’t let ‘em convince you that only grades matter. Compassion, persistence and a pressed shirt are just as important.

Bill Marler (@bmarler): food safety advocate

Do not be lazy. Work hard to make yourself invaluable to your clients and your community.

Ben Qualley (@lawyerben): estate and business planning attorney

Take skills-based classes! Mediation, trial advocacy, drafting etc have helped me immensely. Substantive law changes anyway.

Jay Shepherd (@jayshep): employment lawyer

Two words: informational interviews. Meet many people. Don’t send blind résumés. Sell your differentness. And don’t panic!

Lowell Steiger (@steigerlaw): personal injury lawyer

Find the passion in what you do. If you love what you do, good will follow. Law is a wonderful profession.

What's wrong with this picture?

"What is the most significant issue currently facing the legal profession?" Here's what your peers are saying when 22 Tweets put the question to them.

David Barrett (@barrettdavid): "The LinkedIn Lawyer"

I think the most significant issue facing the legal profession is transparency …
As consumers get more sophisticated, we need new ways across the understanding gap between lawyers and non-lawyers …
Of course there have been great lawyers forever … and we could videotape them all day and clients would get value ….
But now we are in a new era of transparency … and there are a lot of areas in the profession where light has yet to shine

Kelly Erb (@taxgirl): tax lawyer

Besides layoffs? Image. There are terrible lawyers who have ruined what folks think of us. Most lawyers are good people!

Scott Gibson (@tradesecretlaw): business lawyer

Lawyers need to think differently about how we serve clients. Focus on client needs, solve their problems, and provide value.

Dan Harris (@danharris): international lawyer

BigLaw costs too much. Firms must move from hourly billing. Abt 75% of my firm’s work is flat fee. Better for clients & for us

Erik Heels (@erikjheels): trademark, domain name and patent lawyer

Learning to speak Plain English. The@creativecommons copyright licenses are a good example of anti-legalese legal writing.

Jodie Hill (@downtownlawyer): litigator

Lack of legal representation for those who cannot afford it.

Tom McLain (@tommclain): international corporate and M&A lawyer

Communicating why lawyers are valuable at whatever billing basis is used. How do you value the lawsuit not filed?

Bill Marler (@bmarler): food safety advocate

Maintaining high legal standards for ethics while experiencing more and more competition.

Jay Shepherd (@jayshep): employment lawyer

Hourly billing, overpaid associates, legalese are killing it. BigLaw is like GM, newspapers, record co’s. Change is coming.

Christian Stegmaier (@cstegmaier): retail / hospitality and appellate lawyer

For younger attys, managing their debt. I feel for those folks…
… For mid-levels and partners, maintaining the pace & staying fresh. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Why are we still debating?

Are we really still debating whether Twitter is an effective business development tool for lawyers? I can think of at least five reasons why we should move on:

1. Twitter is not a volume equation. It’s about engaging in a few conversations that lead to meaningful relationships.
   
   
2. Twitter is not just for fun. It’s about exchanging information that helps us get better at what we do.
   
   
3. Twitter is not formulaic. It’s about making the tool valuable for you, not lamenting its inability to do what other tools do.
   
   
4. Twitter is not going away. Whether it’s Twitter or the next great thing, it has changed the nature of business relationships for good.
   
   
5. Twitter is not difficult. It’s easy to do, requires little time and technology, and benefits are quickly realized with minimal effort.
   

Isn't it time to focus our energy on creating value?