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Client Relations

An Off Hours Law Practice Is An On Point Idea

April 8, 2008 by Carolyn Elefant

One of the five "high impact" marketing practices that I discuss in Solo by Choice is non-traditional consultations, such as house calls or an after hours practice.  Not only are are non-traditional consults a way to stand out and accomodate your clients, but they’re also compatible with many solos’ business models.  Making house calls or [...]

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How Dr. Doolittle’s Pushmi-pullyu Can Help You Attract and Keep Clients

March 18, 2008 by Carolyn Elefant

Remember the two headed Pushmi-pullyu from the children’s classic, Doctor Dolittle?  What you probably didn’t realize back then is that the Pushmi-pullyu serves as an apt paradigm for providing information to your clients.  I unveiled this concept last week in my presentation at the ABA Tech Show 2008 on “Using Technology to Retain Clients.” Most [...]

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Reach Out And Make A Connection

December 16, 2007 by Carolyn Elefant

Arnie Herz at Legal Sanity offers a great tip, echoed by What About Clients: reconnect with your business network so that you can continue to nurture and reinforce the trusted relationships that produce not only business referrals, but personal fulfillment. Taking a page from Curt Rosengren, Herz recommends that you try speaking with someone personally [...]

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Lawyers as the Bearers of Bad News

December 17, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

The recent shootings at a Chicago law firm by Joe Jackson, a disgruntled and crazed client have spawned a search for reasons behind the tragedy.  This article, Lawyers balance inventors’ hope (12/17/06) explores one rationale: that Jackson, like other inventors who seek patents, hold an unrealistic hope of success.  According to one  patent attorney quoted [...]

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The Limits of Managing Client Relationships

December 9, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

More lawyers are focusing on managing client relations, adopting techniques from putting ourselves in our clients’ shoes to soliciting feedback through surveys to treating them with respect.  But sometimes, no matter what we do, clients get frustrated and angry – often not with their lawyers but with the inherent limitations of our justice system – [...]

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Twelve Rules of Great Client Service

November 5, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

Dan Hull of What About Clients has rounded up twelve of his past blog posts into a comprehensive Twelve Rules of Client Service.  Read it if you want to stay a step ahead of your competitors. Though Dan’s post addresses client service, it’s actually a great model for great rules for serving your blog readers.  [...]

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How to politely decline…and avoid a lawsuit

July 7, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

Recently, Allison Shields posted here on the benefits that lawyers can gain from hospitality, which is what excellent client service is all about.  But this article Thou Shalt Not… by Steven Lubet  (American Lawyer, 7/2006) got me to thinking that hospitality and just plain courtesy have other benefits as well:  they can spare you from [...]

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The Paradox of Client Service

July 1, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

There are a number of blogs like Dan Hull’s What About Clients? and In Search of Perfect Client Service that provide excellent advice on how to serve clients.  At the same time, for some lawyers, particularly new solos, serving clients isn’t as much of a problem as figuring out how to avoid falling into what [...]

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What GCs Don’t Like About Their Lawyers

May 30, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

Even if you don’t deal with corporate counsel as part of your law practice, this article, GCs Vent Their Frustrations About Outside Counsel (Recorder, 5/23/06) is worth reading, because it can help improve your relationship with any clients.  The article lists what corporate counsel don’t like about their outside counsel.  Unpopular practices include (1) surprising [...]

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When You Get Too Close to A Client: Is It a Risk or Part of the Job?

May 14, 2006 by Carolyn Elefant

A few weeks ago, I posted here on the dangers of getting too close to a client.  That issue came to mind again in reading this article Killer Charisma by Glenn Frankel (Washington Post Magazine 5/13/06) which ponders why advocates for Roger Keith Coleman, who was executed for the murder of his sister-in-law, continued to [...]

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