Client Relations

By now, you’ve probably read about renegade airline Jet Blue‘s unlimited travel pass that allows customers to fly free between any of the airline’s 56 national or international destinations as many times as they want between September 8 and October 8, 2009.   Naturally, some deride the offer as a gimmick for JetBlue to make more…

Via Jeff Berman of Lawyer Marketing Sync, I discovered this video clip of Malcolm Gladwell discussing how Prego spaghetti sauce successfully took on Ragu by offering customers a few different sauce options – chunky, spicy and a third (which I can’t now remember).  Today, we consumers are accustomed to different varieties of products. But back…

Just as then-candidate Obama’s campaign offered solo and small firm lawyer valuable marketing lessons on using social media to speak to and genuinely engage clients, likewise, his presidency continues to serve as a valuable source of ideas.  As you probably know, today, President Obama conducted an online town hall, eliciting questions from the public through…

From the first day my virtual shingle went up, the web-based virtual law office technology has allowed me to work with clients of moderate income levels in a more efficient and convenient way for both the clients and myself.  I won’t pretend the motivation for opening my virtual law office (VLO) was for the greater…

For many solo and small firm lawyers, virtual office space offers the optimal compromise between an entirely home-based operation on the one hand, and renting full time office space on the other.  A virtual office arrangement, which may include a mailing address, receptionist service and per diem use of office or conference room space, enables lawyers…

Everyday across the nation, hundreds of solos talk to their clients — breaking bad news, explaining how the law works or offering suggestions on how to handle a divorce or fight a trumped up criminal charges or save their home from foreclosure. Nothing precedent-setting or earthshattering, nothing as sexy or high profile as, for example,…

In a response to my earlier post, The Well Drafted Retainer, my blogging colleague Enricho Schaefer ponders whether the traditional retainer is outdated.  Schafer argues that the complexity of retainer agreements complicates relationships with clients rather than facilitating them.  Schaefer explains that his firm memorializes the attorney-client agreement with an email listing the tasks to…

As I’ve written in Solo by Choice and discussed at my blog, a well drafted, ethically compliant retainer agreement is a lawyer’s most important tool in guarding against grievances, setting client expectations and generally, helping to create a profitable pratice.   Without a retainer, some bars won’t even let you collect your fee.  And if your…