With thanks to Dan Hull’s What About Clients for bringing this my attention (here is the post), those interested in client service should spend time thinking about "Insight #1" on Leo Bottary’s Client Service Insights. Appearing right on the top banner, it states "Client service excellence isn’t about doing what no one else can do;… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: May 2007
One GC’s Prediction: BigLaw Goes The Way Of The Mastadon
Posted in Leadership and ManagementMike Dillon is the General Counsel Counsel of Sun Microsystems. He also blogs at The Legal Thing. Because he is an inhouse lawyer, I want to know what he thinks, so I am a regular reader of his blog. His post from Tuesday captured my attention. The Way Of The Mastadon reflects Mike’s views on… Continue Reading
Negative Word Of Mouth Is An Absolute Killer
Posted in Client ServiceGreat story on Monday’s All Things Considered on NPR about the ramifications of poor customer service. The key is that customers who have a negative experience are more likely to talk about it, and are likely to embellish it. The story is based on a study by the Wharton School of Business. The critical conclusion–those… Continue Reading
Nice Example Of Customer Focus
Posted in Client ServiceFrom Guy Kawasaki and his wonder How to Change the World comes "Airline Boarding Pass Kiosk," a great example of someone thinking like a customer and then implementing the needed changes: The ability to print boarding passes for flights is a great convenience. Unfortunately, half the time you’re in a hotel room when you check-in… Continue Reading
Who Speaks For The Client?
Posted in Leadership and ManagementDuring a conference several months ago, I found myself doodling. Pretty soon, the doodle turned into a note to myself. "Who is the voice of the client?" I put the note on my desk, and I find myself staring at every day. In a law firm, who is the voice of the client? Is the… Continue Reading
California Firms Announce “Salary Increases Will Not Be Passed Along To Clients.” Can We Believe Them?
Posted in Hourly Rates and Alternatives, Leadership and ManagementThe Managing Partner of Morrison & Foerster, Keith Wetmore, is a fraternity brother. Wettinger, as he was known at Northwestern in the the late 1970s, was a stellar President of the fraternity. Because of our fraternal brotherhood, articles in which Keith is mentioned or quoted always catch my eye. One gave me pause to think… Continue Reading
Voicemail–Useful Tool Or Devil’s Folly?
Posted in Client CommunicationsTom Collins at morepartnerincome has a most interesting post on telephones and the use of voicemail. Tom’s post picks up on an article by Dan Pinnington in Law Practice. Tom picks up on this advice from Pinnington: Open with your name and title so the caller is sure they reached the correct mail box. Update… Continue Reading
Our Forms Of Communication
Posted in Client CommunicationsWith thanks to Matt Homann (the [non]billable hour) for the link, think about this information from William Glasser: How We Learn 10% of what we READ 20% of what we HEAR 30% of what we SEE 50% of what we SEE and HEAR 70% of what is DISCUSSED with OTHERS 80% of what is EXPERIENCED… Continue Reading
The Problem With Surveys
Posted in Leadership and ManagementSo I am flying to Houston, quietly reading the April/May issue of Law Practice magazine (see my next post). I stop at ‘FrontLines" to examine their survey. The question–How do law firms arrive at their partner compensation decisions?–is pulled from an Altman Weil survey. I just started laughing. On a 4 point scale, with 1… Continue Reading
Client Service Lessons And So Much More
Posted in People, Places and BlawgsI was paging through April/May volume of the Law Practice, and came across an ad for The Successful Lawyer, authored by my good friend, Gerry Riskin. (Gerry’s blog Amazing Firms Amazing Practices is a must read.) Its no secret that I am a huge Gerry Riskin fan, but I did want to pass along a… Continue Reading
More Associate Raises. More Client Distress.
Posted in Hourly Rates and Alternatives, Leadership and ManagementThe announcement of increases in starting salaries for associates in large California law firms (up to $160,000) led to this law.com headline today: Corporate Clients Take Note as More Firms Announce Associate Raises. The mind just reels, doesn’t it? Here’s the quote from the article that really caught my eye: The rash of raises has… Continue Reading
Time Sheets and Buggy Whips
Posted in Hourly Rates and AlternativesGreat post by Ron Baker on the Verasage blog. Titled "Why we don’t need consultants!", Ron shows his rapier wit in responding to an article published in Accounting Today. The article posits this point of view: While you might argue that it’s the expertise of your staff and the product that you sell, the actuality… Continue Reading
Further Data Critical Of The Hourly Rate System
Posted in Hourly Rates and AlternativesThe May 2007 issue of Inside Counsel contains some interesting "Facts and Figures" (p. 24) on the views of Europe’s in-house counsel. General Counsel who believe their outside counsel have padded their bills …73% In-house counsel who believe that billable-hour targets encourage padding …95% Law Firm partners who believe that billable-hour targets encourage padding …50%… Continue Reading
Affordable Mock Trials Now Available
Posted in CommentarySometimes great client service is passing along a tip or a tool. Here’s one from me. One tool that trial lawyers love to use is mock trials. You get a panel of mock jurors together and you try your case in some format that allows you test arguments, themes, witnesses, exhibits or whatever you want… Continue Reading
Hourly Billing Abuses On The Rise?
Posted in Hourly Rates and AlternativesThe Wall Street Journal Law Blog contains a story that "Study Suggests Significant Billing Abuse." In this post, Nathan Koppel refers to a study by Cumberland School of Law Professor William Ross. The study apparently is not available on line, and I have not seen it, so my thoughts here are based on the numbers… Continue Reading
Great WSJ Article On Alternative Fees
Posted in Hourly Rates and AlternativesToday’s Wall Street Journal contains an excellent article by Ashby Jones on alternative fees. The article can be obtained here (sub. req.). Yours truly is referred to in the article, which makes it a must-read. The Journal’s law blog also has a related piece here. Here the real potential for these stories. Jeff Carr,… Continue Reading