Client Relations

Like Chris Marston of Inside the Future of the Law Firm who raves about the benefits of fixed pricing, I’m also a fan of the flat fee or fixed price.  Chris focuses on how fixed pricing provides certainty to clients, but from my perspective, it makes my life much easier when I don’t have to…

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…

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…

Jim Calloway has a great post on one of the unanswered (pun intended!) questions concerning solo practice:  what’s the best system for answering the phone?  Jim’s post summarizes the pros and cons of (a) outsourcing to a live answering service (uneven quality and costly); (b) using paid employee (who may be low paid and unmotivated)…

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…

Joining a previous and long ago post on housecalls is this piece, Swtiching to House Calls, Hope Viner Samborn (ABA Journal 5/2006).  These days, house calls are viewed not just as convenient for clients but as a way to avoid having an office.  From the article: Solo practitioner Laura S. Petelle gives new meaning to…

Dan Hull highlights this great compliment from a client that came to him via Patrick Lamb.  “We don’t have their phone number, we have their DNA” is the compliment.   Though some of use might prefer a hefty monetary bonus  for excellent service, let’s not forget that this kind of endorsement (particularly one making its rounds…

It’s one thing to go solo with a portfolio of business, but quite another to start from scratch.  Yet, many lawyers, including me, have started firms without any business to speak of.  And this article, Solos’ First Step: Converting Contacts into Clients , Douglas S. Malan The Connecticut Law Tribune (April 27, 2006) shares stories…