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Who Wants More & Better Referrals?

Posted by Peter on November 08, 2011
referrals / 1 Comment

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I was recently referred a great client from a law school classmate. Without getting too specific basically it’s a guardianship estate for an affluent elderly woman. There’s nothing particularly contested it’s just a matter of some regular client counseling and preparing the various annual reports for the court that are required in guardianship cases. And in a rather short period of time I’ve been able to clean-up the case which I took over from another attorney. The previous lawyer had not been doing quality work and frankly he had been bilking a wealthy client while accomplishing little. This case really got me thinking about how I should be handling the lawyer referrals I’m in a position to make.

Because I can be a TON more valuable to my clients if I have a specific and vetted group of attorneys to refer business too. I’ve surely passed referrals over the last 9 years of my legal career but I haven’t done it right. Too often I’ve passed a phone number on that I got from another person without knowing anything about the individual to whom I was passing the referral. That method might be a half step above just sending a person to the Yellow Pages but it’s not much better.

Being a great REFERRER will allow me to:

  • Serve my clients better;
  • Bring more value and better service to my clients;
  • Generate business for myself and other lawyers.

I am a vetted referral source for the law school friend I mention in paragraph 1 and that friend has referred thousands of dollars in legal work to me over the years. Do you really think that the client this guy referred to me above isn’t going to get absolute A+ service from my Firm? Because it’s not just about her it’s about not letting my referral source down as well. It’s sort of like 10x just the regular old, single client.

And that’s what I want to start doing immediately for my clientele:

Provide vetted lawyer referral sources that will allow them to receive A+ legal services.

What’s Next?  

Basically I’m motivated to serve my clients better plus I’ve been honing my niche more narrowly with RJon Robins’ help. What do I do? I’m a pro-marriage and pro-family divorce lawyer. So that’s all I’m doing:  Cook County divorce and paternity matters because family relationships don’t end just because a marriage/relationship does. And, because family break-up shouldn’t destroy lives. And far too many litigants and children are screwed-up for life because of stupid, anti-family choices their divorce lawyer made. Not me.

So if you’re in my niche…I want your referrals! But for everyone else I want to know you better and really ‘vet’ you and get to know you well so that my client’s are benefiting big time from your A+ legal services.  Lets do lunch. You know where to find me (leave a comment, Facebook, @soloinchicago, peter@soloinchicago.com). Specific practice area requests to come but if you know my niche you probably know some of the referral areas I need a LOT of right now.

 

Paid Parking Coming Soon to Cook County Courthouses

Posted by Peter on October 26, 2011
Cook County / No Comments

I found this nugget buried in Cook County Board President’s Toni Preckwinkle’s FY12 budget proposal:

Parking fees will be instituted at County facilities. Paid parking will be expanded to include the Criminal Court Building at 26th and California and suburban district courthouses at a fee of $4.75 per day or $65 per month.  This is initiative is expected to generate $4 million in revenue.

It’s obviously just ‘proposed’ at this point but I bet this has a decent chance of sticking. So start mapping out your public transportation options, find those alternative free residential parking options (I can’t picture too many other than maybe near the Rolling Meadows courthouse), or raise your fees.

This isn’t unprecedented…I don’t get to the Collar Counties too much but my recollection is that Will and Lake Counties charge for parking while Du Page does not. Others?

 

When in Law School, Don’t Be a Jerk!

Posted by Peter on October 13, 2011
referrals / No Comments

Question:  What has been my most valuable source of client referrals?

Answer:  My law school classmates.

I have very fond memories of law school. Do you? It wasn’t quite as fun as undergrad but many of the things that made college fun also applied to law school…sort of a care free time in life, spending time around a peer group of a similar age/interests, and it was intellectually stimulating. That’s my dominant law school memory. But I do also recall it being a pretty small ‘fishbowl’ like existence. Even at huge, state universities law schools aren’t too large. There were roughly 110 people in my graduating class, far less than even my high school. And there always seemed to be some gossip and just nasty treatment of people occurring. Personally I never saw the value in mistreating or being unkind to others simply as a life ethos…there’s a right and wrong way to treat people. Yet it was definitely part of the law school life for whatever reason.

But if you’re in law school, don’t be a jerk! It might be costly later on.

Is there a more naturally captive and potentially profitable source of business for you than the 100-200 persons whom you graduated law school with, know you well, likely practice law in the same state as you, are in position to refer business to you, but also include enough practice area and geographic diversity so that there’s business to go around and opportunities for reciprocity??

 If you’re currently in law school…develop great friendships and supportive relationships now. It will payoff later.

If you’re out of school you need to engage this group immediately before too much time has past, plus it’s easy to do. Surely you have a class picture or graduation program with a list of your graduating class and most alumni associations have a pretty good alumni directory on the Internet these days. If you’re thinking about starting a practice your law school classmates should definitely be on that initial announcement mailing list. I’d suggest for most of us this is a small enough group that a spreadsheet with each classmate, contact information, and their practice areas should be maintained. And then treat these persons like any VIP referral sources…get them on your newsletter mailing list, wine and dine, simply all the personal touches that show them you care.

Medical Practices Work on Ways to Serve Patients and Bottom Line

Posted by Peter on October 11, 2011
billing, law firm management / 2 Comments

A couple re-posts here that I found enlightening…

The article title is a piece from the NYTimes here looking at methods doctors are using to run better businesses.  The 4 business tips from the piece are:

 

  • Limit staff costs;
  • Spread-out expenses;
  • Go electronic; and,
  • Monitor and tweak as needed.

I know only the basics about a medical education but I do find that dentists and doctors generally are better business people than lawyers, not sure why. Two things really stick-out to me whenever I make a visit to the dentist/doctor. First, there’s usually excellent delegation and specialization. Thinking about my dentist just because I’ve seen her more recently, there’s a receptionist, a dental assistant, a person who deals with billing, and the dentist. I’m most impressed by the fact that the dentist doesn’t do anything other than the real dentistry work where she’s needed for a fairly brief time so her value is absolutely maximized….all greeting/prep/billing is done by others. Second, and I’m being a tad repetitive but I think the point is critical, someone other than the doctor/dentist is wholly responsible for financial matters.  With one exception I cannot recall ever discussing money issues with my doctor/dentist. Lawyers can learn a lot through a trip to the dentist to get their teeth cleaned.

And finally, Keeping the Cash Flowing:  A Dozen Tips for Getting Clients to Pay More Promptly. My favorite were:

 

  • Make it easy for the client to pay;
  • Consider delivering invoices in person for significant clients;
  • Create prompt payment incentives or slow payment disincentives;
  • Be the squeaky wheel.

Many points of review for me but one item I’m absolutely using which is new for our billing procedure is “Provide in your engagement agreement that you will charge their credit card or process the withdrawal for the full amount of the invoice 10 days after sending it out.” Get a credit card on the file and get a hold on some money if there’s a payment delay/problem.

How to Profit from your Mistakes

Posted by Peter on October 04, 2011
marketing / No Comments

Recently my wife and I had our weekly Thursday dinner out at a local Mexican Restaurant in the northwest suburbs. It’s a place within walking distance of our home that has great mole sauce and we’re semi-regular patrons. Well as we paid our bill the woman at the cash register was distracted (partly by our chatting w/ her) and ran my debit card for some $600 instead of the like $25 that should have been charged for our dinner. She immediately voided the $600 transaction but then there was a ‘hold’ on our bank account for $600 that was going to stay in place for a few days which was a problem. But their reaction to the mistake really impressed me and actually will cause me to be a more devoted customer in the future.

The following day one of the restaurant owners reached out to our bank to do everything that had to be done to take the ‘hold’ off of our bank account which was done within a pretty narrow window of time so it would be cleared up before the weekend and before other payments/checks we’d scheduled from the account would be impacted. Additionally, we were given a $25 gift certificate.

I think I have greater affinity for this restaurant because of the above than I would have had if we’d just paid per usual and been done with it. I think it’s because so many people/businesses mishandle their mistakes that when someone gets it right the distinction compared to others is greatly magnified. I think an appropriate sports analogy would be when someone shows class and great sportsmanship following a tough loss. We’re used to seeing sore losers so the contrast is magnified. Now, repeated mistakes or huge mistakes would likely cause irreparable damage but I’d guess that most mistakes are of the one-time, smallish variety that you can profit from…if you react correctly.

My office was recently slower than we should have been in getting a Qualified Domestic Relations Order drafted and approved following a divorce (this is an order required to divide retirement benefits post-divorce). Once this was brought to my attention I personally got this prepared, entered in court, and forwarded to the company’s benefits administrator. The client wasn’t charged and frankly we paid a couple bucks to certify a court order and for registered mail. And we’re tacking this weekly currently and communicating with the client.

We’ll see what happens in the future with this client but if he’s anything like me with the Mexican Restaurant our mistake might turn into something profitable. Think about profiting from your mistakes the next time one occurs…unless you’re perfect.

 

 

 

 

 

Win 250 Free Flyers from UPrinting.com & SIC

Posted by Peter on October 04, 2011
UPrinting / No Comments

Here’s another contest from one of our sponsors below. The flyers are perfect for save the dates, party invites, announcements, charity’s, special events, holiday cards and the like. Here’s the contest with winner picked solely at the discretion of Yours Truly…

I’m looking for the best & most helpful answer to the following question:

I’ve often said that the best and worst decisions that I made when starting a solo law practice were over-paying on downtown Chicago office space (worst) and subsequently getting rid of said over-priced Chicago office space (best). What were your best/worst decisions when starting your practice? Most helpful advice to the masses wins! COMMENT NOW.

Prize details

250pcs. Flyers for one winner

4.25″ x 5.5″, 4″ x 6″

14pt Cardstock Gloss, Front Only Printing, nightclub flyer templates and business flyer templates also available for download

3 Business Days Turnaround, *Free Shipping

Restriction: Limited to *US residents 18 years old and above only.

A lot of printing companies are available online. UPrinting offers different printing services such as flyer printing. You can also check out their club flyers.

This giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting, no monetary compensation was given and I will receive flyers for hosting. For more information about flyers, please visit UPrinting.com.

Does Your Law Firm Need a Virtual Reality?

Posted by Peter on September 29, 2011
law firm management / No Comments

Checkout the article HERE about running a virtual law practice that appears in this month’s Illinois Bar Journal…the flagship magazine of the Illinois State Bar Association. Wow, the author’s name is the same as mine…small world.

Tell me if you need a copy or password help.

The Perils of Family Law

Posted by Peter on September 20, 2011
client selection, family law / 1 Comment

How would you like 25 tons coming at your little, old law office?

Yeah, I wouldn’t either but not all your clients are shall we say emotionally stable. I saw this article recently:

 

EDWARDSVILLE • A 42-year-old Collinsville man was being held on a charge of damaging government property Monday after he allegedly tried to back a truck up to a door of the Madison County Courthouse.

Roy L. Conger Jr. of the 400 block of South Jefferson Avenue in Collinsville allegedly damaged landscaping and concrete stairs at the courthouse, located at 155 North Main Street in Edwardsville. He was being held in lieu of $25,000 bail.

Edwardsville police were called about 4:15 a.m. Police said the tractor-trailer truck had become stuck on the south steps of the courthouse. They said Conger left the scene but surrendered at the nearby Madison County Jail.

Court records show Conger had been involved in recent court wrangling over child support. His motion to reduce payments had been denied earlier this month.

Conger apparently sought a reduction based on loss of a job but Associate Judge Keith Jensen said in an order denying the motion that Conger’s own actions caused the job loss.

 

What’s the moral of the story? Seriously, never divulge your home address to a client…you might be surprised by who or what shows-up.
PP

I Love Whoppers!

Posted by Peter on September 14, 2011
law firm management / 3 Comments

That’s Whopper with a capital “W” meaning the proper noun that you purchase at Burger King. And I’ll admit it, I had 2 Whoppers for dinner last Thursday night. It’s not something I recommend regularly at 670 calories a pop but it was my last hard training day before last weekend’s Lake Geneva Triathlon and I hadn’t had much lunch and my wife and I were going swimming that evening, and, well it just happened.

My little trip to Burger King got me thinking about a good restaurant analogy used by Rjon Robbins on a recent coaching call. He compared a “Hamburger only” restaurant with an “Order anything you want” restaurant and used that comparison to argue in favor of greater specialization in your law practice.

He made 2 primary points with one that I’d surely considered before but the other being really an expansive/new perspective for me:

First, a niche specialization implies greater expertise or skill. I get that…from McDonalds serving the best french fries to recently consulting with a highly regarded neurosurgeon when a family member of mine had brain surgery instead of heading to the family practitioner down the street. I think most people get that…Specialist > Generalist.

But the more eye-opening-to-me perspective was his view that you must put the success of your legal services business ahead of serving the “order anything you want” clients. And as I sit here this view isn’t hard to understand that, sure, the success of my law firm SHOULD be more important than the whims of certain clients. Yet how many of us have bent over backwards for clients and let client demands drive our lives and often our practices into the ground?? Just think of the difference between representing 50 divorce clients vs. 50 totally disparate client matters. For the sake of argument lets assume the same fees are generated from either bunch of 50 cases, but, my goodness, the 50 divorces would likely be what 10% of the work of the 50 totally disparate matters (maybe less). That is a huge difference in simple net profits alone not to mention issues like office policies or procedures that would allow the 50 divorce cases to be handled easier and easier over time whereas the 50 unique cases would be a hard, start-from-scratch slog each time….so remember:  My law firm business > “order anything you want” clients.

 

My Favorite Legal Issue…at the U.S. Supreme Court

Posted by Peter on August 05, 2011
contempt / No Comments

Hey this isn’t law practice management but occasionally we can indulge the blog’s editor. Last month the U.S. Supreme court ruled on a case involving the intersection of child support collection and indirect civil contempt of court. The case is Turner v. Rogers, No. 10-10 decided June 20, 2011.

The issue was, does the U.S. Constitution’s 14th amendment due process clause guarantees a defendant’s right to state appointed counsel where incarceration is possible?

The majority answered no and yet went ahead and vacated the state court’s contempt finding anyways, go figure. But seriously if you’re a learned lawyer particularly if you practice within domestic relations land there’s no topic you must know better than the many uses and defenses to a contempt of court claim. The opinion is an interesting read, contempt proceedings in child support enforcement have become something akin to debtor’s prison. Plus, wouldn’t it just be funny to drop a U.S. Supreme Court citation on occasion down in Daley Center parentage court?

 


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