Solo In Chicago…Grow Your Practice!

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Sometimes I can actually read when I’m writing on this blog and thus I ended up attending a couple seminars and conferences recently. My random thoughts both from the rostrum and as an audience member…

Out-of-town conferences offer a good opportunity for learning, networking, productivity and FUN. It had been a few years since I attended an out-of-town seminar and I’m surely not here to compare Springfield, IL to San Francisco in terms of the most exotic of conference locations (our Executive Mansion needs better tour docents) but I really enjoyed my 3 days in Springfield at several different levels. In no particular order…it’s easy to remain pretty darn productive at a conference hotel with a smartphone or laptop with you and wireless Internet access freely available. Quite frankly if my wife hadn’t accompanied me to Springfield I don’t think I would have missed a beat on the law firm/work side of things at all. I’d suggest it’s almost a more productive time than just “being in the office.” I’m meeting people, having fun, learning new things and concepts, and on top of legal work at a good conference hotel. Maybe I’ll finally get to Blogworld in 2010.

Get as close to your current clients as you possibly can. That’s among the nuggets from a presentation by management consultant John Olmstead. The overarching marketing point he made was that his lawyer clients often approach him about new marketing/sales ideas but his first questions is, what are you doing with the clients you already have/had? The point is simple right, but often forgotten. It’s a lot more likely that future legal work is going to come from that person whom you know and knows you and you have their contact information and you have a relationship versus engaging some person in the general public who might somehow come in contact with you.

The Connected Lawyer is NOT a fan of 3-in-1 printer/scanner/copiers. But they sure save surface area Bryan!

And some interesting nuggets from the ARDC CLE…

• During 2008, the ARDC docketed nearly 6,000 investigations yet only 124 of those actually resulted in ARDC prosecutions. More than 3,800 of the initial 6,000 alleged case neglect or communication failings.
• The Top 4 grievances docketed by area of law: 1) Criminal/Quasi-Criminal; 2) Domestic Relations; 3) Tort; and, 4) Real Estate/Landlord-Tenant.
• As for fee matters that get to hearing they fall into the following categories:
  –Overcharging…must be extreme. The example was a case of $150,000 in attorneys fees charged for entry of a guilty plee.
  –Billing more than a 24-hour day to a state agency for attorney’s fees.
  –Fraudulent billing at a document review project where the project’s software was timing the lawyer.