Recently, there have been various articles on this topic (see here and here for a couple examples).  In fact, one of these articles goes so far as to say “[t]he conventional ideas for changing the way law firms do business are . . .  insipid and inadequate.”

I firmly believe that the business of practicing law needs a complete overhaul.  The legal profession has followed the same business model for too long.  Business continues to evolve and legal services must maintain pace, if not excel.  This cannot be accomplished by a simple pledge to consider an alternative fee structure.  A business built on a specific business model cannot just change one aspect of the model (e.g., pricing) and expect a difference.  Instead, the business must be flipped on its head and re-engineered from the ground up.  Law firms are no exception.  Think about this next time you contact your attorney and ask them to consider an alternative engagement structure.  Are they simply changing a few business practices to follow the wave of change, or have they re-invented their business model to lead into a different economy and different world.

Your thoughts any comments are appreciated.

The articles generally discuss how a law degree does not provide attorneys with much, if any, business education.  “Basically you spend three years [in law school] reading appellate court opinions and you don’t learn anything about building a clientele,” said an Illinois business development consultant.  In law school, attorneys never get the chance to learn about important business topics, such finance, accounting, marketing, risk analysis, organizational behavior, strategic management and leadership.  Without training in these areas, attorneys speak a different language than their business clients, which can present barriers and impede the best representation.

A director of professional development at a large East Coast firm was quoted as saying “[w]e realized our associates don’t have an inside view of how our clients work.”  Another partner at a major East Coast firm noted that “[w]hen you have the kind of challenges we have right now, (you need) really well-trained, smart managers talking the same language.”  Finally, the head of client development at a large international firm said “[l]awyers are business solutions and to be able to be that, you must have an understanding of business dynamics.”

It seems clear that for attorneys who represent businesses, especially on transactional matters, finding an attorney who really understands your business is vital.  This understanding may come from an MBA, other training or just experience — but it must be there or you are not hiring the best resource.  Next time you call your attorney, ask yourself, “does he or she really understand my business?”  If not, look for an attorney that does.

There has been a proliferation of legal self-help websites that offer all types of legal documentation, from wills to divorces and from incorporations to bankruptcy. These sites offer “solutions” to your legal problems at rock-bottom prices. But just what do they really do and are they an acceptable replacement to an attorney?

The disclaimers read something like this: The information provided on this site is not legal advice. This service is not a law firm and is not a substitute for an attorney or law firm. This service cannot provide legal advice and can only provide self-help services at your specific direction. And they go on for pages from there. So, it is clear, these companies are not offering legal advice, but instead are offering documents that attempt to solve general legal problems, based on your direction. The important decision of whether the documents work in your circumstance (and what documents you need) is left solely up to you. The problem is that most times, you are not sure what the issues are and don’t know if the provided documents really satisfy your issues – or worse, raise more issues. This is the central problem with legal self-help.

I am not suggesting that self-help legal sites are evil or should be avoided. On the contrary, if you know exactly what you need, know the surrounding issues and know how to use the appropriate documentation, these sites offer a very convenient and inexpensive solution. However, for the majority of situations, I believe the insight of a skilled attorney can help flush out what the real issues are and how to solve them. Moreover, if something is done incorrectly in the beginning, it is typically far more expensive and complicated to fix later.

So, go to the legal self-help sites when you know exactly what you want and how to do it. However, if you have any uncertainty or question make sure you seek advice from a competent attorney. The time and money spent will be a good investment in your future.

So what does this have to do with business and law?  I believe that our dollars need to buy more value, not less – especially in difficult economic times.  Now is the perfect time to examine every dollar you spend and ask whether you are receiving the maximum value from that dollar.  Are your service providers aggressively reducing expenses to lower or maintain pricing?  Are they looking for innovative ways of conducting business that provide you with more value and less cost?  Are they looking for creative win-win strategies to partner with your business?  Most importantly, are they taking the time to understand your business so they can provide their service to you in a way that is most responsive and relevant to your world?

Now is the time to start looking at your service providers the same way you look at peanut butter, mayonnaise and Girl Scout cookies to see if you are experiencing shrinkage or if you are experiencing “value-added” service.  If it is not the latter, you should take steps to move to providers that embrace a different way of conducting business that is relevant to your world.

Top Ten Things to Remember for Professional Email Usage:

1. There is no such thing as a private email, so keep in mind when drafting your emails that they could at some point get forwarded to other parties or become public.
2. When structuring your emails, use appropriate business protocol just as you would when drafting any other type of business communication.
3. Use email as a quick communication tool rather than as a replacement for critical face-to-face contact.
4. Use appropriate and engaging subject lines.
5. Respond to emails in a timely fashion even if only to let the other person know that there will be a delay to their request.
6. Respect the privacy and confidentiality of both individuals and businesses when considering sending or forwarding an email message.
7. Carefully review and spell-check your emails before you send them.
8. Include a professional signature with appropriate disclaimers for each outgoing email, not wild graphics or animations.
9. Use careful consideration when deciding who should be copied and/or blind copied on your email communications.  Be especially careful of ‘Reply to All.’
10. Send only necessary emails, not emails with inappropriate content or highly sensitive information.