Maine Law Practice Management

Many attorneys will try to rush through the drafting and explanation of a fee agreement .  The job, as they see it, is to get the fee out there, and to define the scope of legal services, as quickly as possible – so that the client will sign off, and so that the lawyer can go back to what they really want to do, which is to practice substantive law.     But, there’s so much more that you can do with your engagement agreements, to make them truly engaging (see what I did there), and to set the tone for a more useful attorney-client relationship.   Here are three potential additions you could consider to your standard fee agreement, that will truly turn it into an engagement agreement:     - Add a Technology Clause .   In part to better govern client communications (more on that in a second), you should relay to your clients the technology you use in the firm .  This will also allow you to get their sign-off on using that technology stack, and ...

This is kind of a trick question .  It’s one that initiates the lawyer’s go-to response: It depends.     But , in reality, the choice of who answers your phone when clients and potential clients call has a lot of la yers to it, not unlike an onion .  And, this is reflective of the many cho ices now available to attorneys.     In a perfect world, where you have ample time ( riiiight ), it’s probably best to have lawyers answering every call – and, the more senior the lawyer, the better .  Why ?  Because it surprises and delights clients .  (Wait, I’m actually talking to the lawyer?!)  Clients and potential clients expect you to have gatekeepers; if you don’t = they’re amazed, and thrilled.  Some law firm actually employ this method.  Not surprisingly, clients are happy, and revenue increases. Of course, the vast majority of law firms can’t accommodate that arrangement.   And, if that’s your law firm, the ne...

The notion of a ‘factory practice’ gets a bad name among lawyers, who retain a burning desire to exist as white tower intellectuals .  Conversations about revenue and efficiency only get in the way of a good conversation about Supreme Court cases from the late 1880 s.  Ah, the Gilded Age, indeed.     But, really, it’s the law firms that can accommodate the most work, that make the most money.   Lawyers often think it’s pricing, that makes them money .  It’s not .  In specific geographic areas, for specific practice areas, lawyers charge about the same, across the board.     What really separates the law firms that make the money versus those that don’t (make as much of the money ) is how many widgets they can make .  In an environment where legal services is becoming commoditized, and in which consumers continue to exhibit increasing price sensitivity, it only makes sense that efficiency would be the ultimate answer.   ...