Sometimes, it is best just to move on and and not turn an unfortunate event into a catastrophe. Case in point: young, inexperienced lawyer, a recent graduate of Touro Law School (to be honest, I’ve never even heard of it) takes a murder case to trial. Case doesn’t go well (there’s a shock) and judge… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: May 2011
Cravath and predictable fees
Posted in CommentaryIt was only back in 2009 when Cravath Managing Partner Evan Chesler stunned the legal world with his Forbes article, Kill the Billable Hour. Chesler spoke about the importance to him of getting an exact price from the contractor remodeling his kitchen, and made the leap that clients had the same interest in knowing the… Continue Reading
This quote may be the most important marketing and trial skills lesson ever.
Posted in Commentary"Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass." Anton Chekhov Hat tip to my friend Dan Hull who brilliantly enlightens us at What About Paris? and has posted this quote numerous times.
Is estimating hourly fees an appropriate way of setting a fixed fee?
Posted in Commentary, Hourly Rates and AlternativesRees Morrison, who blogs at Law Department Management, just wrote a really interesting post, Sorry, it’s perfectly fine if a firm sets a fee based on estimated hours of work. The genesis of the post is a comment by an Associate General Counsel at Altria that “A firm is disguising hourly billing as value billing… Continue Reading
Law Firms Using Apps
Posted in Marketing, Branding and SalesNice story from the Chicago Lawyer on law firms developing apps for smartphones, iPads and similar products (and we especially like the way the story features Valorem!). Here’s the key takeaway: "More cell phones are being sold than computers," [uber Marketing ConsultantLarry] Bodine said. "Everywhere I go people are texting or going online and looking… Continue Reading
“A decision against big law firms in general”
Posted in CommentaryWhile the focus is on practice in Germany, this American Lawyer article is a very interesting read in terms of how many lawyers inside BigLaw must be thinking these days. Key statement: "Our departure was not a decision against Dewey, it was a decision against big law firms in general," says Konrad Rohde, who left… Continue Reading
Value. What does it mean to you?
Posted in CommentaryValue: qualitative or quantitative? Or both? What does it mean to you? Here’s some food for thought. "Value is a feeling. It is not a calculation." Simon Sinek "Price is what you pay. Value is what you get." Warren Buffett "There is a difference between getting what you pay for and what you hope for." … Continue Reading
An Interesting “Redefinition” of AFAs
Posted in Hourly Rates and AlternativesCheck out this great post from Rees Morrison, who makes the case that, for clients, the best way to use AFAs to get value is to define it as Alternative Firm Arrangements. I couldn’t agree more. The more clients that vote with their feet and exercise their inherent power as the buyer of services, the… Continue Reading
From Cubs to Valorem: a nice comment on our App!
Posted in GeneralWe received a most unusual email about our App that I just had to share. Here is the body: I saw your cool app and thought I’d send you this note. That pretty much sums it up. I was browsing for a Chicago cubs app and came across the app. As a first year law… Continue Reading