One thing that successful and happy business attorneys do is keep on time of economic and social trends that might impact their clients or open up new opportunities to broaden the scope of their practices.  Even just a few minutes looking at the news these days reminds us that several interesting factors are converging in the US economy.  One unfortunate trend has been the escalating rate of long-term unemployment among seasoned workers, including many former senior managers who lost their jobs during the Great Recession and have been unable to find new work in spite of often herculean efforts.  Another development has been the steady and impressive growth in the purchase of small businesses in the US.  While researching for a new book, Buying a Business: What You Need to Know, that was just released by Aspatore my colleague Robert Brown and I learned that while US GDP grew 1.7% in 2011 the number of small businesses that were purchased grew 3.3% over that same period.  Maybe the best move for long-term seasoned executives and managers is to stop beating their heads against the wall trying to get others to notice them and start taking a hard look at business ownership as a viable and exciting new path.

Sure, there are good and real reasons for pining for a return to Corporate America.  These senior managers used to enjoy great pay and benefits and status in their industry and communities and many of them probably gave little or no thought to giving that up and going out on their own.  In fact, they were usually too busy to think about anything other than the project that their bosses had put in front of them.  But, all that has changed—probably for good—and now these unemployed senior managers are becoming anxious to get going once again.  In most cases they’ve run a small business already, albeit as part of a larger enterprise, and all they need is the confidence to take on the challenge and guidance on how to make the deal happen.  Moreover, the timing has never been better as business owners unable to find buyers willing to pay fair value during bad times are now realizing that they can make a sale on terms they can live with as the economy begins to turn up.

What does this mean to you?  Well, as a business counselor you can make an invaluable contribution to the process of locating, evaluating and purchasing a new business including assisting with due diligence, negotiating the purchase and sale documents and assisting the purchase after the deal is done to get any loose ends in order and set the company in a way that increases its chances of success.  Not sure how to make this all happen?  No problem.  Just start with the Beyond the Bar video program aptly named The Purchase or Sale of a Business Doesn’t Have to be a Bumpy Ride.  You’ll learn the basics about how to manage all the elements of buying a business and the information that your clients will need to collect and analyze in order to get started.  Other programs in the series will help you feel more confident about assisting clients with letters of intent, due diligence and closing the deal!

There are essentially two schools of thought on whether lawyers should offer free consultations to prospective clients. On one side are the lawyers who argue that their time and advice is valuable and that a free consultation undermines that value. These lawyers tend to practice in areas in which the client will be looking for very specific advice in the initial consultation. Requiring payment for an initial consultation reinforces to the client that the lawyer expects to get paid for his or her services. Requiring payment before or at the outset of a consultation also cuts down on clients who schedule an appointment but never show up.

On the other side are the attorneys for whom free consultations are commonly offered in their practice areas. This is particularly true for contingent fee work, such as personal injury, workers compensation, and plaintiff’s employment law. Other high-competition practice areas, such as bankruptcy and criminal law, tend toward free consultations. In these areas the free consultations are a way of convincing the client to visit your office to meet with you, at which point you have the opportunity to “close the deal” and convince the client to sign a representation agreement.

As one might expect, regardless of the practice area, newer and less-busy lawyers tend to offer more free consultations. Although one may give away some value in answering a prospective client’s questions for free, the good will that is built with the prospective client may lead to the person hiring the lawyer or referring friends to the lawyer. Somewhat paradoxically, as lawyers become more successful, they tend to be less willing to give away their time.

There is much room for creativity around initial consultations. In my practice of representing lawyers, I offer up to 15 minutes of an initial consultation for free, except that if the conversation runs longer than 15 minutes, I charge a minimum fee of about half my hourly rate. That way I can encourage lawyers to call me with quick, straightforward questions but I still can get paid for the value of my experience and advice if the question is more complex.

To learn more about finding value in free consultations, click here

Once you have a planning system in place (see first blog post on this topic), use it to create a master list that incorporates your personal and professional goals as well as existing and future projects.  One of the great time management ironies is that it takes time to make time—but a lot less time than most people think.  Set aside a half hour this week to create your master list and capture everything in one place.  Then plan to set aside 5-10 minutes once a week (for example, Sunday evening or Monday morning) to look at your master list, update it, and determine what needs to be done this upcoming week.  Flag the items that need to be done this week.  Then spend 2 minutes or less at the beginning and/or end of each day pulling from the weekly priorities into the plan for that day.  When working on your daily task lists, realistically assess the time it will take to get tasks done and the steps involved. A good rule of thumb is to estimate the time it will take and then double it.  Most of us underestimate the time it will take to get things done and then fail to deliver on time, don’t produce our highest quality work, or, most commonly, end up doing it last minute!  To create a smart daily task list, keep these tips in mind:

• Keep tasks realistic, small, and achievable
• If you cannot accomplish a certain task in one to two hours or, at the maximum, in one day, break the items down smaller
• Give every task a deadline, starting from the end and working backwards to the present – and build in time for inevitable interruptions!

Now is always a good time to put a planning system into place if you don’t have one. Tracking goals, projects, action steps, tasks, and activities by keeping them “all in your head” or on post it notes scattered around the office is not a sustainable strategy for the long haul.  As you ascend the career and life ladder, things only get more complicated so it is smart to start early by putting strong task management strategies into place.  The idea is to capture all tasks, big and small, in a system that exists outside of your mind. Not only will this cut down on excessive mind clutter, which reduces anxiety and stress, but it will enable you to chart a proactive course towards your goals and feel fulfilled by what you’ve accomplished.  To find the right system for you, consider your preference for paper or technology. Do you prefer to write your tasks on paper and check them off?  On your computer or smart phone?  Combination?  Here are a few products to consider.  For paper planning options, check out www.franklincovey.com or www.levenger.com or search the Web for others.  In terms of electronic options, a simple word document or excel spreadsheet that tracks your tasks can be more than adequate.  There are also endless “apps” out there these days.  One free app I like is called Wunderlist – www.wunderlist.com.  It works across platforms so you can access it from your smartphone or online while you work and always have your list at the ready.  It’s simple and flexible for keeping track of both work and personal tasks.  The key here, no matter which route you choose to go in, is to find a system that you will actually use. A simple spiral bound notebook used together with an electronic calendaring tool such as Microsoft Outlook is a perfectly good system. Fancy isn’t the goal here.  Simple is the goal… because a simple system is a system that is actually used!

Last week a lawyer wrote to me and asked if it was ethical to charge, in addition to a flat fee for representing a client in a matter, an additional “administrative fee” of $25 for copies, postage, and other costs that might be incurred in the matter. I see  these types of fees occasionally in retainer agreements, whether they’re hourly or flat.

The ethical question is not hard: all fees and costs must be reasonable. That leaves a lot of leeway, although there is authority that says that charges for costs should be related to the lawyer’s actual costs and not be a profit center for the firm.

If it’s difficult or time consuming to track costs for a particular client, you could charge a reasonable administrative fee. I would first want to track the costs in various client matters to see how much those costs typically run. But if ten clients’ costs are $100 and ten clients’ costs are zero, I don’t think it is reasonable to charge every client $50.

The practice of charging a vague administrative fee reminds me of when I go to my auto mechanic and there are charges on my bill for parts, for labor (per hour, by the way), and “shop supplies.” When I ask what that item means, the response is usually a noncommittal “Oh, you know. Rags and stuff.” No, actually, I don’t know. Rags? Seriously, you’re charging me extra for rags?

If you don’t want to bill separately for costs, fold them in to the hourly rate or flat fee you charge the client. Let’s leave the charges for shop supplies to the mechanics.

We’ve been reviewing the four components that make up a lawyer’s brand: technical skills, client service, dynamic approach and personal qualities.  Having a dynamic approach to your practice means that you look at it from a big picture, longer-term perspective.  Instead of flatly moving from assignment to assignment doing what’s expected of you and nothing more, you stretch yourself each step of the way.  You think through what the next steps of a project might be.  It means you are a forward thinker about what’s going on in the legal industry, your particular practice and the industries of your clients.

Having a growth approach to how you practice not only benefits you in that it expands your skill set and your knowledge base, it makes you more competitive, more efficient , more versatile. In short, it enables you to add more value.

Here are some questions to ask to help you have a dynamic approach your practice:

1.)   Save and Shave: If you’re working on an assignment that you’ve already done in the past, ask yourself how you can save time? Can you implement a precedent? Can you build on knowledge that you now have from the previous time? Then, challenge yourself to shave some time off how long it takes from the last time. Even if it’s just five minutes it will challenge you to be more efficient. Sometimes over-thinking and overworking is the enemy of value and quality. Just bringing this level of a strategic the strategic thinking to your assignment will add a layer of value that wasn’t there the last time. And, clients and supervisors always appreciate saving time and/or money.

2.)   Past, Present and Future:  Think about the clients you serve. The niche you may be in.  The industry those clients are in. What was going on five years ago? What’s going on now? What is coming down the pike in five years? Think through what that might mean.  How does that inform how you practice today? How does it inform how you might practice five years from now? How can you get out in front of that for yourself; for your practice group/organization; for your client’s?  Are there articles or client alerts you should be writing? Are there checklists you can be developing to help your client with what might be coming? Are there presentations and lectures you should start delivering to establish you as an expert or thought leader.

3.)   Lessons Learned:  If you’ve drafted a document or done a particular assignment several times, sit down, take five minutes and think through what have you learned from the first time you did it to the last time. What do you know now that you didn’t know then? For example, what are the top five problems that could come up and merger agreement and how do you work around them?

4.)   Style, Approach, Philosophy:  Ask yourself the question: what style of lawyer am I? What’s my philosophy and approach to things? So for example, if you’re a litigator, are you a “dog with a bone” deposer? Do you leave no stone unturned when it comes to trail preparation?  If you’re a corporate attorney, are you a “nice guy” s negotiator? Just being able to answer these questions or work them into a conversation with a client, whether internal or external, or a supervisor will send them a signal that you really think long, hard and strategically about not just “what” but “how” you’re practicing law.

As many of you have probably heard, the pro bono landscape was dramatically, and permanently, changed on January 1, 2013 when new rules went into effect in New York State that require that most of the applicants for admission to the bar in New York must complete at least 50 hours of qualifying pro bono service prior to filing an admission for application for admission.  These rules not only apply to graduates of New York law school but also to lawyers from other jurisdictions (including foreign lawyers) who want to practice law in New York and thus are seeking bar admission.  Students in their first and second years of law school as of the effective date immediately became subject to the requirements and the requirements will apply to everyone who seeks admission to the New York bar on or after January 1, 2015.  While Rule 6.1 of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, which urges lawyers to aspire to render at least 50 hours of pro bono public legal services each year, and state bar policies based thereon have long advocated pro bono service, the New York rule is the first one that makes such service mandatory.  It is presumed that other states, such as California, Massachusetts and New Jersey, each of which are considering similar rules in a preliminary manner, will watch developments in New York closely as they play out over the next few years.

Law students and attorneys who become subject to the requirements will be given a broad range of opportunities to satisfy them as the New York rules define pro bono service to include work performed for people of limited means, not-for-profit organizations, and other individuals or groups seeking to promote access to justice.  In order to qualify the work must be performed under the supervision of a law school faculty member, licensed attorney or judge and work by conducted under the auspices of law school legal clinics or governmental entities.  Work need not be performed in New York and may be completed in any US state or territory, the District of Columbia or a foreign country.  The Advisory Committee on New York State Pro Bono Bar Admission Requirements rightly pointed out that the new requirements will address the crisis in access to justice; however, the Committee also noted that the requirements are an opportunity for prospective attorneys to build valuable skills.  Obviously law students and new lawyers interested in litigation can take advantage of the wide range of litigation-oriented pro bono programs that have been available for a number of years.  Fledgling business attorneys may have to work harder to find a marriage between their passion and pro bono service but law schools and law firms will hopefully arrange opportunities to assist clients interested in setting up new businesses but lacking the resources to pay substantial fees to lawyers.

Pro bono requirements of this type should be viewed by you as an opportunity to gain needed experience that you can’t normally get in the law school classroom setting.  If you are still in law school seek out faculty members and clinic coordinators and ask them about ways to get on-the-job training in counseling new businesses.  If you are out of law school see what clinics are available in your community and find out if they need volunteers.  Hopefully they’ll provide mentors to oversee your work.  But, if not, you can start with the guidance and materials available on the Beyond the Bar video program covering Planning and Launching a New Business: A Comprehensive Checklist.

The debate over the wisdom of the billable hour has once again come alive in the blawgosphere in the wake of the recent disclosure of indiscreet emails exchanged by DLA Piper lawyers and Steven Harper’s recent op-ed in the New York Times, “The Tyranny of the Billable Hour.”

Harper’s commentary very nearly gets it right. In a larger firm, billing by the hour tends to be abused because the associates and junior partners serve two masters: the client and the firm. The requirement to bill a certain number of hours per year, combined with the lack of discretion over what time is ultimately charged to the client, sometimes results in exorbitant bills to the clients.

But the problem is not that charging by the hour is inherently unethical or that an alternative fee arrangement is inherently fairer or more cost effective for the client. Time is a commodity. There are only so many working hours in a week. If you want a piece of my time, you pay for it. But as a sole practitioner, I have completely control over the fees I charge my clients. I am sensitive to the idea that clients do not want to be nickeled and dimed for every voicemail, email, and text message. So I write off, on average, about 10% to 20% of the time I spend on client matters. None of my clients complain that I bill by the hour.

Alternative fees certainly have their place. Both corporate and individual clients may like the certainty of a flat fee. As I point out in my presentation on alternative fees, however, flat fees may require the lawyer to take on a risk that is not present with hourly fees: the risk that the matter will take more time than the lawyer expected, perhaps because of facts the lawyer does not yet know. This is one reason why it is so difficult to implement flat fees for litigation- the course of the matter is unpredictable.

Nor are flat fees inherently more fair than hourly fees. Not too long ago I hired a plumber who would only quote me a flat fee for a rather small job. I was suspicious but I needed the work done. Sure enough, the job went quickly and I ended up paying more on an hourly basis than I charge my clients for legal work. And I felt ripped off and I will never hire that company again.

It’s not the billable hour that is bad; it’s the abuse of it that gives lawyers a bad name.

Of the four components that make up a lawyer’s brand, the first three (technical skills, client service and dynamic approach) deal directly with the law: executing legal skills; delivering those skills and refining them along the way. Although it’s important to focus on the first three components of your brand, the 4^th piece, “personality”, can be the secret weapon differentiator that helps you stand out from the crowd. It’s a chance for you to leverage all the things that make you interesting and appealing in your interactions with people.

With respect to your brand, the more positive things people remember about you the more they will remember to remember you. At the root of “personality” is the question: are you somebody who people want to spend time with? Could they envision being stuck in a conference room into the wee hours of the night eating take-out food and having a pleasant experience with you? That’s the goal here.

On the flipside, what you don’t want to happen is what I call the “door duck”. Are people ducking into their doorways when they see you coming down the hall? If so, you might want to reflect on how your personality maybe compromising your brand?

Here are some things to consider highlighting with respect to the personality piece of your brand:

1.)   Interests: What is it that you do in your non-work, non-legal time? Have you climbed Mount Kilimanjaro? Have you done an Ironman? Are you an expert marksmen? The more extreme (albeit appropriate) the better. All of these can set you apart from the competition.  They send a signal that your disciplined, committed and not afraid of challenge.

2.)   Impacts:  What impact do you have on people?  What impression do you leave? Are you a morale booster? Are you the class clown who makes everyone feel light and happy? Are you witty and charming making people want to stay in conversations with you?  All of these can leave a positive impression and encourage future interaction.

3.)   Values: What are your greatest core values? How can they leave a positive impact on people? Are you involved in a charity that you love dearly? Are you known for being the absolute family man/woman? Are you deeply involved in your political party? These all create opportunities for connection.

The key take away here is that being a lawyer doesn’t mean you have to talk about the law 24/7.  In fact, quite the opposite. To build those lasting relationships and leave those positive impressions, you’re going to want to have a few things in your pocket that are just about you to weave into conversations. Sometimes, those are the positive things that really stick in other people’s brains.  Especially if it relates to a connection or shared interest you may have.

Believe it or not, there is more to life and your career than the law.

Our last blog post highlighted that of the four components that make up a lawyer’s brand (technical skills, client service, dynamic approach and personal qualities) technical skills are far and away (and we mean far) the most important.   That said, the way you package those skills and the delivery method of your work product have the second most powerful impact on your brand.  Basically, if the quality of your technical skills is high but your client service skills are mediocre or poor, you are seriously compromising all of the hard work and talent that went into your work product.

And consider this, regardless of what environment you work in, you are in competition with your peers.  You are competing for the best assignments, the best mentors, the best resources and opportunities and possibly clients whether external or internal.  If you are working diligently to have stellar legal skills, think how unfortunate it would be to lose out to someone who knocks it out of the park on both work product and client service. Because rest assured if both high quality and service are available—that will be the buyer’s choice every time. So, don’t drop your energy or the ball after finishing the product—make sure it gets delivered with the same standard of quality.

Whether your client is the partner you work for, an external client or your supervisor, your job is essentially three-fold: to make his/her life easier; to help them solve their problems; and to make them look good to whomever their clients are.  The primary question to ask yourself is: “How can I most effectively do each of these things?”  Here are 6 basic ideas to consider implementing:

1.)   Know your clients: Make it your business to know their business as well as their preferences.  What are their major objectives, goals and responsibilities?  What is important to them? What keeps them up at night?  How do they want you to interact with them?  Face-to-face?  Via email?  How often do they like you to check in?  Daily?  Hourly?  When during the day are they most likely to be available for you to get their time and attention to do your job effectively?

2.)   Lessen their load: Take the ball as far as you can without overstepping boundaries.  This is a delicate balance that may take some time to master. It hinges on knowing what you know and knowing what you don’t know.  Start with thinking one step beyond what they’ve asked you to do and then checking in with them to see if they would like you to take it.  Taking that initiative will establish you as someone committed to doing his/her job of making his/her client’s job easier.

3.)   Ask for the big picture: In order to fully execute on points 1 & 2, it helps to take the time to understand the bigger picture context your client operates in.  To the extent you can, piece this together on your own—perhaps through online research, a quick perusal of relevant documents or maybe asking more junior members of the team.  You will only be able to take this so far on your own.  The next step is to take what you know to your client and ask him/her to fill in the pieces.  Your initiative will impress your client and inspire them to take the time to explain the bigger picture.

4.)   Ask questions:  When you don’t know something that is critical to you being able to progress with your work, don’t be afraid to ask.  Spinning your wheels will only cause delays.  Again, you can try to guess or speculate what the answer is and use that as your means of checking in.

5.)   Keep them up to date:  Clients do not like surprises and they do not like being kept in the dark or wondering whether or not they are going to get what they asked for in the form they asked for it. Check in regularly (but not in a stalking way) to make sure they feel comfortable enough with the way the project is going.

6.)   Be available and responsive: Perhaps obvious but worth reiterating, when they call or reach out, make sure you get back to them as soon as possible and make them feel as though they are your number one priority.