Saturday, August 30, 2003
Build Marketing Opportunities Internally
Susan Saltonstall Duncan -- ABA's Law Practice Management Magazine -- July/August, 2003
Focus on generating business from within your firm. Make an effort to develop personal relationships with other lawyers, peers, support staff and mentors.
Know your firm. What specific clients does the firm serve, and for what service needs? What industries?, expertises? Stay informed about solutions lawyers have created for clients.
Treat everyone like a referral source. Each person in your firm can help or hinder your ability to generate business. From support staff to partners, show an interest in others' skills, priorities and needs. Let them know what type of work and clients you seek. Reciprocate by thinking about opportunities to benefit others in their endeavors.
Treat partners like clients. Build a reputation for being prompt, reliable and responsive. Meet deadlines. Organize work into priorities and time frames by thinking ahead and mapping out support needs. Seek feedback on your work product and find out how the external client felt about the service you delivered.
Show interest in marketing initiatives. Talk to partners and others about the firm's strategic goals and marketing priorities and initiatives. Find ways to get involved and offer to help others do research on prospective clients, draft articles or prepare for seminars.
Build your visibility. Once you know what others are trying to promote through their marketing efforts, you are better able to look for opportunities for them. Communicate about key developments and opportunities through e-mails or memos, concisely summarizing the legal issue and the benefit to the client. Identify important committees in the firm or special task forces, and learn how you can get involved.
Checklist: How to Market Internally
Nurture relationships when working with or for other lawyers. Don't just drop your work on their desks and run. Stick around and make a personal connection.
Be a resource for others in the firm. Put them in touch with contacts you have that might help them personally or professionally.
Show your interest in the firm's business development efforts. Learn who is pitching to prospective clients and try to invite yourself on the team, or at least find out how things went.
Hone your marketing skills by taking advantage of resources in the areas of client communication, sales and presentation skills training. Identify successful rainmakers in the firm and ask them what strategies and approaches they've used.
Look for networking and development opportunities for others in the firm and relay information on trends or events that might be of interest to them.
Evaluate how others became successful and map out a path of activities that will help you develop your skills, earn respect and recognition, and gradually acquire a leadership role.
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Susan Saltonstall Duncan (sduncan@rainmakingoasis.com) is President of RainMaking Oasis, Inc., a marketing and management firm that provides planning, consulting and training tools to lawyers and law firms. She can be reached at (203) 318-0083.
Thursday, August 21, 2003
Law Firm Creates Its Own Client
Duane Morris Creates Insurer to Sell Malpractice Insurance to Florida Doctors
New York Lawyer
August 21, 2003
The Associated Press
A new company backed by the law firm Duane Morris LLP has filed for permission to begin selling malpractice policies in July 2004. The company, called the Florida Healthcare Providers Insurance Exchange, will be based in Miami.
The Exchange would insure doctors who also would be part owners of the company, contributing capital in addition to paying premiums. The firm runs a similar company in Pennsylvania.
More than 60 companies offered malpractice insurance a decade ago in Florida. Now, there are fewer than five.
Wednesday, August 06, 2003
Discovery Channel's "Code of Silence" features Network Trial Lawyer and Former Prosecutor David Vicinanzo (Nixon Peabody)
In the late 1990s, Tommy Shea assembled the most successful gang of bank robbers in New England. The FBI suspected the gang was based in Charlestown, Massachusetts, but no one in Charleston would talk to the police, and investigations hit dead ends.
The Discovery Channel's "Code of Silence" documentary reports on a federal racketeering and murder case that resulted in a four month trial of five gangsters from Boston several years ago. The case was prosecuted by Nixon Peabody's David Vicinanzo. The documentary focuses on the investigation, including the complicated forensic sciences involved, as well as the trial of the case itself. All defendants were convicted and received multiple life sentences. Dave was interviewed extensively for the documentary and is expected to appear prominently on the show. The documentary should be very interesting for lawyers and non-lawyers alike. It will air at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time, Friday 8/8; 2:00 a.m., Saturday 8/9 and Sunday, 8/10.
David Vicinanzo is an accomplished civil and criminal litigator who has practiced in New England, Washington, D.C., and New York for more than 15 years. His practice primarily involves complex civil litigation, white collar criminal defense, internal investigations, government compliance issues, and intellectual property protection.
Monday, August 04, 2003
Mid-Year Report from Hildebrandt International
8/4/03
There have been a number of dramatic events so far this year, and the economy and its impact on the profession is difficult to predict.
Operating Performance
The first half of the year can best be described as "choppy." Many of our [Hildebrandt's] clients have reported sluggish collections during the first half of 2003. And corporate activity remains relatively modest, although there are recent signs that transaction levels are increasing as financial markets recover from the significant decline in equities that began three years ago. Firms that have been heavily reliant on transactional practices, especially in the technology sector, remain under pressure.
On the positive side, litigation, especially intellectual property and products liability, remains strong at most firms. Bankruptcy, while continuing to show strength, is slowing, suggesting a gradual improvement in overall economic conditions. The recent uptick in corporate and M&A transactions is encouraging, although it is too early to say whether those practices have turned the corner.
We also note how well many small and mid-size firms have performed during the recent slowdown. The strong performers in this category tend to be firms with a well-formed sense of strategic direction and practice focus, as well as a competitive level of profitability and compensation that suits the objectives of most key partners.
On balance, with certain exceptions noted below, the profession appears to be in reasonably good shape. [Hildebrandt] believe[s] that revenue and profit growth at most firms will be similar to last year, with revenues increasing about 8-10% year-to-year and profits increasing at a slightly slower pace, in the 8-9% range. With the exception of professional liability costs, where [Hildebrandt is] seeing insurance premiums increasing by as much as 30% and deductibles rising at a similar or even faster pace, most firms seem to have their expenses under control.
Client Trends
On the client side, friction with outside service providers is always higher during periods of economic softness. Law departments continue to be under constant pressure to hold the line on expenses. [Hildebrandt] see[s] this reflected in client demands for discounts, cost disputes, and displeasure with firms that are unable to adhere to budgets. And [Hildebrandt] also see[s] an increasing trend toward outsourcing, as clients address their legal services needs in the context of internal constraints on law department growth. In addition, [Hildebrandt] sense[s] that corporate clients continue to take steps to reduce the number of outside law firms they utilize. And clients in the financial services area are moving to adopt legal panels.
[Hildebrandt] would also like to alert [its reader] to the growing interest in outsourcing some legal work offshore. If the trend continues, it could have significant impact in firms with commodity practices and could also affect the performance of legal research as well as trademark and patent prosecution. [Hildebrandt] expect[s] intellectual property firms to continue to face increasing competition from general practice firms for high level intellectual property litigation.
Finally, [Hildebrandt] note[s] the growing impact of Sarbanes-Oxley which recently celebrated its one year anniversary. Over time, [Hildebrandt] believe[s] that legislation will lead more and more clients to make outside counsel hiring decisions that will withstand the highest level of independent scrutiny. Sarbanes-Oxley also places renewed emphasis on quality lawyering and risk management.
With few exceptions, [Hildebrandt] believe[s] all these factors will, in the long run, lead corporate clients to select larger firms with highly respected and well-established practices. [Ed. Note: Ellis Mirsky disagrees and continues to maintain that lead corporate client will, as always, maintain segmented purchasing practices, with (a) some but less work going to 50 large, national, firms with extraordinary hourly rates, where counsel selection is not a price-based decision and where quality and results track records provide the comfort needed to justify counsel selection to corporate boards of directors and executive committees; (b) a substantial and profitable but continually squeezed segment of business going to middle market firms who represent excellent value by delivering outstanding results at reasonable prices; and (c) an increasing amount of "low-end" work going to "commodity" legal service providers working high volumes of matters on small margins for low hourly rates.]
Dissolutions
On a less positive note, [Hildebrandt] draw[s] your attention to the increasing level of law firm dissolutions, including several highly publicized failures that have occurred in the past six months. These dissolutions are a natural occurrence in the late stages of an overall economic turndown. [Hildebrandt] believe[s] these failures have common themes:
Weak management, often with leaders who have lost touch with their partners.
High debt levels (sometimes not fully disclosed to partners).
A growth plan based on size rather than a well thought out strategy.
An eat-what-you-kill compensation system.
A lack of core values and institutional loyalty.
[Hildebrandt] will not be surprised to see additional failures in the second half of 2003. Firms that are experiencing difficulty this year should seek advice and address their problems before they join the growing list of failed firms.
Consolidation
Consolidation continues in the profession at all levels, sizes, and geographies. Mergers and rumors of mergers continue to dominate the news, although [Hildebrandt] expects to see fewer mergers this year than last. However, merger discussions currently in progress involve larger firms than in recent years.
Consolidation also occurs with the move of lateral partners. Lateral partner activity continues to be at a high level. [Hildebrandt's]see[s] this trend favoring larger, more well-established firms with the infrastructure, resources, and economics to attract the strongest practitioners. The lateral market is tricky, however. And while it is dangerous to generalize, some partners who move sequentially from firm to firm are self-centered and anti-institutional in their behavior. An increasing number of firms are fed up with disruptive partners regardless of their economic contribution. [Hildebrandt warns readers to be] careful in the lateral market and perform . . . due diligence well.
Professional Development
[Hildebrandt] is seeing an increasing emphasis at many firms on professional development, including improved peer review and even upward review procedures, executive coaching, and a growing recognition of the importance of continuing education and training. [Hildebrandt's] Institute programs are expanding at a fast pace in these "softer" areas, reflecting a maturation in the legal services industry that mirrors an emphasis on human resources issues that began decades ago in the general business community.
International Investment
Investment by US firms in international operations is growing. At the same time, the economic performance of many UK firms reflects a downturn in the market caused primarily by heavy reliance on corporate finance and related work. US firms, particularly large New York firms, have been increasing their investments throughout Europe and we believe they are gaining ground on some of the UK firms. It is clear to [Hildebrandt] that a number of US firms now have very profitable offices operating in London and on the continent we expect that trend to continue. Unfortunately, there remain a large group of US firms who have invested money and resources in an international presence with no clear strategic focus.
Summary
The economy is showing signs of improvement and should have a positive effect on performance in the second half of this year and, more importantly, in 2004. This is the time to be planning for investment and the predictable shift in practice emphasis.
For more information or to contact a consultant, visit www.hildebrandt.com.
