For most people and most businesses, the end of 2009 and the end of the “aught” decade could not come soon enough. Well, rise and shine, 2010 is here. Time for a positive, upbeat attitude. (If you celebrated the end of the decade last night and “aren’t quite yourself” this morning, you can start having… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: December 2009
Year End Client Satisfaction Evaluations
Posted in Client Surveys and AuditsIt is year end. Have the senior managers of your firm visited your firm’s most important clients this month? Has there at least been a phone call to each of the primary personnel you deal with at key clients? If not, what on earth are you waiting for? You should be looking for opportunities to… Continue Reading
Bad ideas, good ideas–and litigation
Posted in CommentaryFantastic post by Seth Godin. Here it is: A few people are afraid of good ideas, ideas that make a difference or contribute in some way. Good ideas bring change, that’s frightening. But many people are petrified of bad ideas. Ideas that make us look stupid or waste time or money or create some… Continue Reading
The Danger of Budgets
Posted in CommentaryFrom Dilbert: Avoid the heartache. Make it a fixed fee with a performance incentive.
I am honored to receive a 2009 “Blawggie”
Posted in GeneralDennis Kennedy, the dean of law blogging, annually (since 2004) awards "Blawggies." According to Dennis: The Blawggies, which honor the best-related blogs as determined from my personal and highly-opinionated perspective, were first unleashed on an unsuspecting blogosphere in December 2004 and are now an annual pre-Christmas tradition here at DennisKennedy.Blog. I’m very pleased that this… Continue Reading
Your perspective on price makes a difference
Posted in CommentaryCourtesy of the Lean Six Sigma Academy, I am reading the Guide To Lean, by Ron Pereira. He notes three ways to express how a company turns a profit: 1. Price – Cost = Profit 2. Profit = Price – Cost 3. Price = Cost + Profit All the same? Perspective counts here. The following… Continue Reading
Price. Value. Commitment?
Posted in Commentary, Hourly Rates and AlternativesAbove The Law recently revealed some internal documents from Simpson Thatcher. If Simpson Thatcher reflects what is going on in large law firms, it is clear that the recession is hurting BigLaw big time: In 2007, our realization was 110%; in 2008, our realization was 97%; for 2009, we originally budgeted 93%, and we are… Continue Reading
The Season For Wreaths, By Scott Greenfield
Posted in GeneralMy dear departed father served in the United States Coast Guard during WWII, so this request is one I happily accomodate. Scott Greenfield, who writes the brilliant Simple Justice, asked (via Twitter) bloggers to blog about programs that use wreaths to honor those who died in the service to their country. I thought for a… Continue Reading
A Formula For Client Satisfaction
Posted in Client Service, Client Surveys and AuditsJohn DiJulius writes that the customer experience can be viewed through this formula: Reality – Experience = Customer Experience. I would change this a bit, to Reality – Expectation = Customer Experience. Clearly, this formula can lead to a negative number. The nice thing about this formula is that it forces the person employing it,… Continue Reading
Know Thy Price
Posted in CommentaryDilbert, courtesy of Dilbert.com, December 7, 2009 Here’s the questions of the day. Other than when hiring lawyers, what other goods or services do people buy without knowing the price? How did lawyers escape this prevailing rule? Why are some clients unwilling to insist that lawyers play by the rules that every other person… Continue Reading
WARNING: Beware of Stealth Rate Increases
Posted in CommentaryThis if for clients only. If you are from a law firm, don’t bother reading this. Many firms have announced that they are moving away from lockstep compensation and advancement for their associates. DLA Piper announced yesterday that it was joining other firms in this approach. Above The Law described the DLA structure like this: Instead… Continue Reading
Some law firms need to retake math class
Posted in CommentaryRichard Susskind reports that law departments are facing cuts on the order of 20-40%. Assume that his data is off by 100%, meaning the cuts are between 10-20%. More cuts are looming. Law firm rates went up an average of 2.5% in 2009, according to a National Law Journal survey. Law firms are predicting increases… Continue Reading
The relationship between Doctors’ hand-washing committees and alternative fees
Posted in CommentaryI just returned from a breakfast at which Stephen Dubner, one of the authors of Freakonomics and the sequel, Superfreakonomics, made some remarks. He told the story about the work he and his co-author did studying the hand hygiene habits of doctors at a hospital. Doctors self-reported washing their hands 71% of the time. By… Continue Reading
You’ll like irrelevance even less
Posted in Commentary, Leadership and Management"If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less." –General Eric Shinseki, then Army Chief of Staff Courtesy of a tweet by my friend Gerry Riskin (who also blogs about this video here), comes this eye-opening (and if it doesn’t open your eyes, you’re dead) slide show prepared Beaton Research and… Continue Reading
Prediction: Patton Boggs Will See Increase In Hours Billed in 2010
Posted in CommentaryLaw 360 is reporting that Patton Boggs will award bonuses of $5,000 to $45,000 to associates who exceed their billable hour goals, but will reduce salaries for associates who have not met their targets. Efficiency? Who cares. Results? Not on the radar. Profitability of work? Only for the faint of heart. But hours, dammit, we… Continue Reading
Bill Belichick could never be a Managing Partner
Posted in Commentary, Leadership and ManagementAn absolutely brilliant piece by Paul Lippe in today’s AmLaw Daily makes the case that lawyers’ belief that they will reduce risk by making choices that are conventional or appear safe is misplaced, especially in today’s rapidly changing world. Lippe’s piece, Welcome to the Future: What Bill Belichick’s Taste for Risk Can Teach Law Firms,… Continue Reading
The smell of war is in the air
Posted in CommentaryIn the past few weeks, I’ve posted on the decision many firms have made to raise hourly rates for 2010 (here, here and here). The inside counsel world has heard the same thing. And they are not happy. Check out this Law.com post featuring how two GCs are handling the issue. For those with no… Continue Reading
More On The Tone Deaf, Insane Crowd
Posted in CommentaryAltman Weil is out with a flash survey of law firms on 2010 billing rates. The survey finds: The survey found that US law firms project an average overall increase in rates of 3.2% for 2010. Most law firms will make rate change decisions based on specific variables including timekeeper class, practice, client or individual… Continue Reading
Results Are In: Insanity Rules
Posted in CommentaryTen days ago, I linked to a post, by Susan Hackett of ACC, Are Firms Tone Deaf? Why Push For Rate Increases In 2010? I referred to a post I made a year ago using the same "tone deaf" language that firms should not seek rate increases in 2009. This mornings American Lawyer contained this: Although… Continue Reading