Gerry Riskin just recommended that we all read “legendary Merrilyn Astin Tarlton’s new blog.” Merrilyn’s blog is named Blank Piece Of Paper and a box of crayons. Gerry’s recommendation is all I need, so I immediately took a look. Blank Piece of Paper is very impressive. I just smiled when I read Merrilyn’s entry “How… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: August 2006
Snakes…Planes….And Client Service?
Posted in Client ServiceWhat do snakes and planes have to do with good client service? That is the question I asked myself when I began reading Rob Millard’s post Snakes On A Plane. He answers the question. Please read his post–it underscores some very fundamental truths.
The Case Of 1 + 1 = 5
Posted in Client Communications, Client Service, Selection of counselInteresting post in Rees Morrison’s Law Department Management blog. Thoughts on Why Law Departments Retain Outside Counsel discusses several theories. First, brains vs brawn. This theory postulates that inside counsel handle the routine stuff but turn to outside counsel for more challenging work. Second, the overflow theory. Here, outside counsel are retained whenever there is too much work… Continue Reading
That Time Entry Is A Critical Communication To Your Client
Posted in Client CommunicationsI’ve written before about the importance of clear, crisp, distinctive writing when recording time, using entries to tell a persuasive story. The entry is here. Tom Collins has a terrific post making the point in a more compelling manner. Tom writes the morepartnerincome.com blog. As Tom reminds us: There is one thing that you send… Continue Reading
The Wide Gulf Between Lawyer Perceptions And Those Of Their Clients
Posted in Client ServiceInside Counsel just published their 17th Annual Survey Of General Counsel. Fascinating stuff. Consistent with my recent posts on the Lake Wobegon Effect (here and here), the Survey reveals that 52% of law firm respondents graded their relationship with clients an A. On the flip side, only 25% of General Counsel graded their relationship with… Continue Reading
Whoever Said “Good Grammar Costs Nothing” Hasn’t Read This
Posted in Client Service, Selection of counselDan Hull of What About Clients is the leader of the Good-Writing-Is-A-Necessity Bandwagon. See some of his posts here. But kudos to Michelle Golden of Golden Practices for keeping this critical topic front and center with her post highlighting the cost Rogers Communications, Inc. from a misplaced comma. (The cost is $2.13 million, by the… Continue Reading
Edge Rocks The Globe!
Posted in People, Places and BlawgsLet me begin by acknowledging a bias. Those who have followed my blog know how highly I think of Gerry Riskin of Edge International. Having watched Gerry in action and more recently had the chance to work with him, I think he operates in the rarefied air that most of us only dream of. He’s… Continue Reading
The Geography Factor In Great Client Relationships
Posted in Client ServiceI’ve long advocated face-to-face time with clients. (See prior posts here and here.) Larry Bodine put some real life spin on this advice in a great post.
BIG NEWS: BIG FIRM ASSOCIATE PAY SOARS, CLIENTS DANCE IN STREETS
Posted in Leadership and ManagementThis just in from law.com–Big Firm Associate Pay Soars By $10K in 2006. I actually made up the part about clients dancing in the streets. Weeping at their desks is probably more like it. I’ve written before about how these massive costs are passed along to clients with no corresponding increase in value provided, so… Continue Reading
The Lake Wobegon Effect–Some Empirical Data
Posted in Client ServiceA couple of weeks ago, drawing on some material from Harry Beckwith, I wrote about Overcoming The Lake Wobegon Effect, the phenomenon by which law firms always overestimate the degree to which their clients are satisfied. Now comes a nice post from Jim Hassett at Legal Business Development that provides some data to support the point. … Continue Reading
New Targets For Clients
Posted in Selection of counselThanks to my friend Dan Hull at What About Clients for introducing (at least to me) the concept of “muscle boutiques.” Top talent, small firms, lower overhead, no deadwood. Why should clients pay for those unprofitable offices in luxury cities? Do you get more value per person from Navy Seals or several battalions of infantry? … Continue Reading
What Tony and Jim Know That The Rest Of Us Don’t
Posted in Leadership and ManagementTony and Jim know greatness. Tony knows that out of all the cereals in the cereal aisle at the grocery store, only one is “Greeeaaaattt!” And Jim learned through rigorous study that of the scores of companies in the study group, a mere 11 qualified for the Good To Great moniker. Greatness is rare, and… Continue Reading
The Bus Ride Continues
Posted in Leadership and ManagementOn July 27, I posted some comments about the “Bus Metaphor” from Jim Collins’ outstanding book, Good To Great. My post inspired Michelle Golden to post a comment. Michelle’s original post questioned the applicability of the bus metaphor to professional service firms given their differences from the businesses studied in Jim’s seminal work. Utterly serendipitously, I… Continue Reading
“Timesheet Terrors”
Posted in Hourly Rates and AlternativesI love finding examples of time sheet errors, be they deliberate or not. Intentional deceit makes the more compelling case against use of the billable hour method, but negligent error also makes a compelling case for change. In the August 2006 edition of Inside Counsel, Executive Editor Rob Vosper pens a piece about the use… Continue Reading