RJon Robins

How Do I Build A B-2-B Law Firm?

March 8, 2007 by RJon Robins

—–Original Message—–
From: Rxxxxxxxxlaw@aol.com [mailto:Rxxxxxxlaw@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2007 8:51 PM
To:

rjon@howtomakeitrain.com

Subject: Question

Dear RJon

I’ve been subscribing to your e-list for a while now. It’s great — and congratulations on a great website.

I’m now working full-time at an insurance company in Xxxxxxxxxxxx, but would like to start a solo practice concentrating on legal research and writing and especially appellate practice. I currently do this work for two practitioners, an immigration practitioner who specializes in political asylum cases and a personal injury lawyer, for whom I perform pretty extensive brief-writing and research services.

I’m trying to market to develop more clients (who of course are other solo and small-firm lawyers) but I’m finding it a tough process. I know it’s possible to develop a practice like this, because I know people who are doing it, but I don’t know how to market myself to achieve this goal. I just did a direct mail campaign with a reply card addressed to 200 lawyers, and I have not received a single response. I’m thinking maybe my letter needed work, but I don’t know how to craft a more effective letter.

I’ve also sent ads around on Solosez and on emplawyernet’s network mail and run ads in the Law Journal, but without any success.

Can you think of any things I should be doing? I would appreciate any ideas you might have.

Thanks.

Mxxx Rxxxxxxx

—————————————My Response Below——————————————————

Hello Mxxx,

Thanks for the compliment. I have a question for you though. . . have you listened to any of my programs? Read the e-book?

I agree that it’s very possible and very profitable to develop a B-2-B law firm like the one you’re describing, because I’ve helped several lawyers build them from just an idea into extremely profitable businesses that lend themselves amazingly well to leveraging the efforts of others to generate income for the owners of those businesses.

It seems to me though, from your marketing efforts so far, that your focus has been on trying to make a homerun when instead the way to build your practice is by concentrating on base hits. Sending out an e-mail blast or a direct mail piece doesn’t generally make good economic sense for a business unless you are already in a position to leverage yourself. That’s because, as you have already had a taste of for yourself, there is a tremendous amount of preparation, testing, revising, more preparation, testing, revising etc. required to develop an effective advertising piece. And if all you’re trying to do is keep yourself busy, there are other faster, easier, less expensive ways to do that.

When you’re ready to handle a flood of business, THEN you do the direct mail/e-mail routine. If you’re just trying to get enough work to keep yourself busy, I think you’d be much better off with old-fashioned networking & sales calls. Sorry to disappoint you, but these tried & true methods for building a professional services business are called “tried & true” for a reason. Concentrate on these reliable basics, get enough business to keep yourself busy & THEN experiment with other approaches when your mortgage payment isn’t dependent upon results. That way, you can actually have FUN with your experiments.

At the risk of stating the obvious, I should point out that all of this information and a lot more, including instructions for how to actually execute the tried & true approaches I’ve described here, are all in the programs I sell & you’ll get as much or more by joining the Bronze Attorney Coaching Program, which only cost $39/month. The Silver & Gold groups will be open again in a few months.

Hope this helps,

RJON

www.HowToMakeItRain.com

Helping Lawyers In Small Firms Make Alot More Money

How To Go Solo In A Big Firm

February 23, 2007 by RJon Robins

Here’s another perfectly valid and good reason for lawyers to
consider going to work for a big law firm. . . they’re a GREAT place to
hang out your own shingle. No, I’m not crazy. You read that right, big
law firms are great places to hang out your own shingle. It’s all a
matter of perception. Let me explain. . .

Let’s say you’re just getting out of law school, or maybe you’ve
been out for awhile but your solo law firm hasn’t been performing for
you as well as you might have hoped. Do you struggle out there on your
own, ordering your own office supplies, managing your own IT,
negotiating with your own landlord and managing your staff all by
yourself, all the while trying to find time to practice law and have a
life?

Well, if that’s you then having a life is probably the first thing
that got sacrificed a long time ago. So let’s take that out of the
equation when comparing big vs. solo practice for our hypothetical
lawyer who isn’t able to make enough rain to keep him/herself
comfortably appointed.

Now we need to touch upon an important subject which is often
misunderstood by lawyers. Unfortunately, it’s a subject for which we
don’t have enough space to give justice, here in a short blog posting.
And that’s the subject of what it REALLY means to “own” or be a
“partner” in a law firm? In reality, the only thing the Owner(s) or
Partners of a big law firm actually “own” that is of any value, is the
ignorance of their associates who never learned how to make it rain
enough to be in a position to demand a piece of the pie for themselves.
Oh yeah, and a collection of used furniture, old computer equipment, a
lease obligation for the space, and a collection of accounts
receivables. And what do you suppose each Partners’ slice of all that
is really worth on the open market?

Now once you recognize that the only thing that REALLY separates the
Partners of big law firms from their Associates, is the ability to
generate enough business to cover their own overhead and make a profit
for the firm, it becomes clear that it’s perfectly possible to hang out
your own shingle in a big law firm.

Do you have to sacrifice some of the freedoms of being completely
out on your own? Sure you do. But the trade-offs can be well worth it
if you manage the relationship well and go into it with your eyes open.
And keep in mind that just because you’re bound by someone else’s rules
today, doesn’t mean you will have to still be bound by those rules
tomorrow. If you learn how to generate enough business to have a say in
the matter, that is.

So how does one go about hanging out his/her own shingle in a big
law firm? The Answer: Become a Rainmaker. Were you hoping for a more
complicated answer? Sorry to disappoint you, but that’s it. . . Just
bring in roughly double what you take out of the firm and for all
practical purposes, you’ve achieved “solo” status. That is to say, you
can begin to have a say on the rules of the firm which affect you,
because at that point, the firm needs you as much as you need them.

When you bring in three times what you take out, you can have a say
on the rules of the firm that govern the lawyers who your work is
keeping busy. Because at that point, those lawyers need you more than
you need them. And when you tip the scales and are able to bring in
more than three times what you take out of the firm, that’s when you
make the transition and either become a “Partner” in a big law firm, or
go out on your own and open your own shop because you want to have a
say in the rules of all the lawyers in a law firm, except of course for
the ones who bring in twice what they’re taking out of the place.

So there you have it. Think of working for a big firm as owning your
own shop in a mall. The mall takes care of security, HVAC, basic
insurance, and maintenance of the roof over your head. And in exchange
you agree to run your shop in accordance with mall rules. But inside
your own four walls YOU still get to make all the important rules about
strategy and how you prioritize your finite resources of time, energy
and enthusiasm.

So to any lawyers reading this or any of the other many great blogs
for solos, if you’re ever tempted to feel like bashing (or being
jealous of) lawyers in big law firms, remember that we’re ALL bound by
the same Golden Rule Of Law Firm Management: Whoever Controls The
Golden Clients Rules The Law Firm.

What to look for in malpractice insurance

February 21, 2007 by RJon Robins

Many of the lawyers I have consulted with over the years, have been surprised to learn about some of the unique “twists” when it comes to malpractice insurance:

1. The sooner you get it, the cheaper it is. That’s right, if you’re thinking about holding off for another year to save some money, it could actually backfire on you when you find the rates are HIGHER in each subsequent year than they might otherwise have been because you waited.

2. The high cost of “Tail” insurance. Unlike a typical liability policy that covers you for mistakes made WHILE you were insured, most malpractice policies only cover you if you are STILL insured by the company. Unless you BUY “tail” coverage.

In other words, you are covered in January by Company A, but cancel in February and buy a policy instead with Company B. Someone comes along in March & sues for something that happened back in January. Without a tail policy, yours is left swinging in the wind. Be sure to ask about the cost of tail coverage up-front to avoid finding yourself in a hostage situation with your carrier down the road.

3. Management, not the lack of substantive legal skills is the most common cause of malpractice. I’m not sure why this always surprises lawyers since they take lots of CLE courses on substantive legal issues, but hardly any on how to manage your law firm. In any case, taking steps to learn all the things they never bothered to mention to you in law school about how to manage your law firm can not only reduce your stress and increase your profits, but it can also earn you a break on premiums with several malpractice insurance carriers.

4. Not all carriers are rated the same. Be sure yours is “A” rated.

Hope this doesn’t keep anyone up at night

Where The Web Is Headed . . .

February 19, 2007 by RJon Robins

My technical partner just shared this video about where the web is headed. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions about the ramifications it will have on your law practice and your life and just share this data point for you to consider. . . I was a guest speaker at a local law school today on the topic of how to open/market/manage your own law firm when you graduate. ALL of the students had laptops and the whole entire law school was completely wireless. That’s your competition next year, especially with guys (and some gals) like me teaching them how to make it rain, even with alot less substantive legal experience than you. The day is fast approaching – I’d argue it’s already here – when just being a better lawyer isn’t going to give you a competitive advantage in attracting new clients. Keeping them, sure. Inspiring them to come back for repeat business and refer their friends, maybe. But getting the sales call appointment has less & less to do with how great of a lawyer you are every day. Now watch this video & let me know what you you’re going to do about it. . .

What good vets have in common with good Rainmakers. . .

January 27, 2007 by RJon Robins

So this weekend I dognapped a cute little Pug and her buddy who is a Boxer from one of my neighbors who sadly, had gone crazy and stopped feeding them and herself too. They were in good spirits, but just severely malnourished. Of course, my solution was to drop the dogs off with my Sister, who is a very successful veterinarian. So successful in fact, that she can always afford to take on a few hard-luck cases each month even when she knows ahead of time that she’s unlikely to get paid.

There is a lesson here for all the lawyers reading this who wonder sometimes why I feel so strongly that it is our ethical duty to engage in effective Rainmaking activities. Broke lawyers don’t do anyone any good, least of all their families, themselves and/or all the people out there who really need help but can’t afford it. Instead, if you want to do your part to make the world a better place by standing up for clients who cannot stand up for themselves, and who cannot afford to pay for someone to stand up for them, it is imperitive that you learn how to run your law firm efficiently and generate enough good paying work that you can afford to take on a few hard-luck cases of your own from time to time. You’ll be doing our profession and your community a good service and I will thank you in advance. . . THANKS!

From David Maister’s blog

January 25, 2007 by RJon Robins

The questions in bold are from a recent post in David Maister’s blog. My responses to him are the ones not in bold:

One of my favorite quotes, by one of my favorite authors is by Ayn Rand: “We Can Avoid Reality, But We Cannot Avoid The Consequences Of Avoiding Reality“. And now that the stage is set, here are my thoughts based on having many times been invited into small la w firms as a Practice Management Consultant by spouses and even by solos themselves to validate their points to staff – or vice-versa. Since I hope everyone reading this blog thinks of him or herself as a professional problem solver, perhaps these observations between consultants will find relevance in your law practice too. . .

Do you HAVE to be a skilled mediator to be a good advisor?
YES. That’s not to say you have to mediate. But you must have the
skills of being able to understand problems in all of the dimensions
they exist in and maintain a healty dose of skepticism. Most mediators
I’ve worked with understand that every dispute has three sides: My
point of view, Your point of view and The Truth. The best ones are
able to get everyone focused on how well all the grooves and curves of
The Truth fit together with their own objectives.

What do you do if you’re not?
Get some practice at understanding problems in all three dimensions in
which every problem exists: Time, Money & Reputation. If anyone’s
interested I teach how to do this in my How To Close Every Sales Call audio program.

Is it OK to accept an engagement when you know you are being used as political weapon? If you speak the truth and offer your best advice for the good of the FIRM and not necessarily anyone particular faction, it shouldn’t matter to you how your words are used. I will say I’ve had the experience of the person who brought me in, not being too happy when I called it like I saw it and when my advice for the best interest of the firm didn’t fit their agenda, so it’s best (for your mental health) to always be candid with whomever from the firm brings you in.

Is it ethical to accept an assignment if you think your work will lead to the break-up of that firm by proving to people that they shouldn’t be living together? See my response above.

Is there ever a way to not be politically involved? Yes, but the consequence is that you’ll end up being terribly boring. At the end of the day, if you’re not pissing someone off, you’re probably not trying hard enough to stretch the firm. Afterall, most of the people who hire us are smart. So what do they really need us for except to challenge the status-quo, offer fresh, objective, challenging, thought-provoking perspectives on how and why the law firm is the way it is, and solid advice for how it could be better.

Is there ever a way to not have a political impact?
Remember, there is a difference between being politically “involved”
and being politically motivated. Some of the definitions of the word
political include: “. . .1) of, pertaining to, or involving the state
or its government; 2) having a definite policy or system of
government;and 3) of or pertaining to citizens: political rights.” I
prefer the second definition. In the context of an advisor to a law
firm or anyone else for that matter, being “political” can mean having
a definite point of view, a philosophy, a set of values. Love them or
hate them, could you ever really respect a person or take their advice
seriously who didn’t have these attributes?

And if you DO have a point of view, a philosophy and a set of values
that you bring to your work, how can you hope to – why would you want
to – avoid having an impact on your client?

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