Carolyn Elefant, solo practitioner and founder of MyShingle.com, will lead a discussion with Joshua Lenon, Lawyer in Residence at Clio, and Daniel Gershburg, owner of Gershburg Law, on what lawyers need when starting a law firm. Topics will include:
Startup costs;
Real property alternatives for workspaces;
Marketing for no money;
Tech tools; and
Examples of special tools by practice areas.
6. Lean Startups
• Invented by Eric Ries, and refers to an
efficient method for startups to build their
products. The approach emphasizes:
• developing and testing prototypes with
customers early; and
• rapidly incorporating customer feedback as
product development continues.
7. Lean
/lēn/
noun
1. A toolset for modifying business
practices to maximize the delivery of
customer value.
2. A systematic method for the
elimination of waste within a workflow.
8. It’s not about getting
more things done. It’s
about getting the
right things done.
14. Big Law Gaining Most Market Share
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Smaller Firms Mid-Sized Firms Big Law
Growing Market Share
Source: BTI MARKET OUTLOOK AND CLIENT SERVICE REVIEW 2017
15. Big Law Spends 1/3 More
on Client Development
Source: BTI MARKET OUTLOOK AND CLIENT SERVICE REVIEW 2017
16. Big Law’s Secret: Invest More
in Fewer Activities
Source: BTI MARKET OUTLOOK AND CLIENT SERVICE REVIEW 2017
17. Client Feedback → Superior Client
Service → Financial Benefits
Source: BTI MARKET OUTLOOK AND CLIENT SERVICE REVIEW 2017
18. How do you find on a lawyer?
Consumer Research
19. It’s Hard to Find a Lawyer
Only 6% of consumers
find price information on
law firm website.
26. Identify Your Solution
I am a New York technology attorney,
that helps web companies comply
with data privacy laws.
#ClioWeb
27. Identify Solutions
1. Focus on a specific industry.
• Pick two or three specific industries, like banking, intellectual property for software
development, commercial real estate litigation, etc.
2. Focus by size of revenue.
• For example, you could focus your practice on high net worth individuals (at least $1
million in net assets) or target businesses with $5 million to $50 million in revenues.
3. Focus on the services you offer.
• Perhaps you want to focus your law firm’s services on complex litigation, celebrity or high
profile divorces, white collar crimes, or Spanish speaking clients.
4. Focus by combining all three above.
• The most powerful way to specialize your law practice is to combine all of the above:
Niche yourself by industry, size of revenue, and by the specific services that you offer.
#ClioWeb
30. Meet Client Expectations
• Base expenses around client expectations and
return-on-investment
• Startup costs
• Real property alternatives for workspaces
• Marketing for no money
• Tech tools
• Specialty practice tools
#ClioWeb
33. Marketing for No Money
Networking
• Free events
• Paid events
• No-fee groups
• Start your own group
• Mentor
• Volunteering
Content Marketing
• Guest post
• Social media
• Journals
• HARO (Help a Reporter
Out)
#ClioWeb
34. Tech Tools
• Website
• Third Party Services
• Social Media
• Client Intake
• Updates
• Interruptions
• Billing
• Feedback
37. Defined Client Experience
Inform Potential Clients
• Downloadable guides
• Newsletter
• Blog
• Social Media
Accessible to Clients
• Contact information on every
page
• Actions for clients
• Map
39. Potential clients inform FreshLegal of
their needs via online data entry.
Information on this form is sent via
email and Google spreadsheet to the
firm automatically.
New contacts are added to
MailChimp and Clio (via Zapier)
Opt-in for a newsletter
McKinsey Study:
research indicates that for every 10-percentage-point uptick in customer satisfaction, a company can increase revenues 2 percent to 3 percent.
At a time when the customer-satisfaction scores of top-quartile institutions can exceed those of bottom-quartile players by as much as 30 to 40 percentage points,
And here’s what w found. First of all, the large majority of people find lawyers via a referral from a friend or family, followed by looking using a search engine like Google.
Source: http://www.legalservicesconsumerpanel.org.uk/publications/research_and_reports/documents/November%202017%20LSCP%20Tracker%20Survey%20Market%20transparency%20in%20legal%20services%20Final.pdf
Compared to 28% in 2016
We also saw really interesting data around how clients choose a lawyer. The most important factors here might surprise some. At the bottom of the list is the website that talks about how you graduated magna cum laude at your law school. What’s more important to clients? That you are responsive, offer free initial consults, fixed fees, take credit cards, and can text your clients.