For law practices, the issuing of low costs estimates has to be one of the biggest - and silliest - drains on profitability. Whether done deliberately, subconsciously or innocently it leads to internal write-offs, discounting, poor productivity, client frustration and stressful long hours for employed solicitors...
I regularly meet solicitors who have just launched new law practice websites and ask me to have a look. Normally, it passes the 'one second test' in that it 'looks' good. By this I mean that at first very swift glance, the designers have done a good...
Costs agreements and disclosure notices are hideous documents, aren't they? Is it any wonder clients don't read them - 17 pages of arse-covering legalese with a few nasty dollar signs hidden somewhere on p7! It's not all the solicitors' fault - costs disclosure is of course a regulatory...
Do you have 'needy' clients and customers? (what a drag!) In a way, needy customers are great - you'd prefer them to need rather than not need you. But often, customers 'act' needy because either you're not meeting their needs, or they don't feel that you're meeting their...
I've been doing a fair bit of work lately with lawyers on pricing issues - looking at the communication challenge and how lawyers can achieve the double whammy of both generating more revenue and ensuring their clients feel good about it. At some point in the...
The most recent Commonwealth Bank legal market pulse identified 'negotiating price with clients' as one of the most challenging business elements in legal practice. This probably isn't too surprising in the current climate. What is slightly more surprising is that more law practices don't invest in developing...
Do you or any of your team work hard, and seemingly efficiently - but still struggle to meet billable hour targets? The answer might lie in 'productivity insecurities' - which I've discovered is a big problem for not only junior solicitors but also practice principals. In practices...
So you've made the jump to fixed fees. Congratulations! Does that feel good? Wasn't that painful really was it - and your clients love it! But are you really making the most out of the jump to fixed fees? Are you genuinely maximising your potential profit and...
Are you under pricing pressure? Are you doing all you can to reduce client sensitivity to your fees? Over the last 18 months or so, I've asked the same question at the Queensland Law Society's Practice Management Course, concerning the importance of price: Think of the last time...
Do you really get agreement from your clients re costs - or just a resigned, reluctant acceptance? The problem with costs agreements is that too often, there is very little real agreement about costs because the client doesn't understand what you will do for them and how...