Lawyer’s Learning Center with DHIA Podcast Season 05
Season 05:
The Business Side of a Law Practice
The way we practice law is changing.
Technology is not the enemy, but rather an aid providing relief in the legal industry. It is important that law firms modernize their tech stack and workforce. Embracing the digital age and its new business models will bring many benefits to your practice.
Invest the time and money into restructuring your outdated practices and start expanding the profits of your business.
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More Resources:
Download the Client Relations Checklist
Business Plan Guide for Growing Law Firms
Purchasing software is challenging for any business. It’s even harder for law firms. But the latest software is critical for keeping your firm competitive.
Kory Kelly is a tech entrepreneur who helps law firms use software to increase efficiency and boost profits. He sat down for an interview and helped us understand the differences between practice management software and customer relationship management software, when firms should think about adding to their tech stack, and how to sort through the sales pitches.
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More Resources:
Download the Client Relations Checklist
Business Plan Guide for Growing Law Firms
Change does not come naturally. But learning to leverage every tool at your disposal is often the difference between an average and exceptional law practice.
Practice management software is the digital backbone of the modern law firm. It protects your firm from malpractice risks, automates client communications, tracks billable hours, streamlines pipeline review processes, and can potentially even reduce Professional Liability Insurance premiums.
If you choose to ignore what is becoming the industry standard practice, then you are by default choosing to:
- Spend more money on malpractice insurance.
- Experience a higher incidence of expensive mistakes and malpractice claims.
- Waste your team’s time on repetitive tasks.
- Increase headcount as your firm scales.
Practice management tools will improve your firm’s profitability in three main ways:
- Efficiency
- Scalability
- Risk-reduction
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More Resources:
Download the Client Relations Checklist
Cyber Liability Self-Assessment
Business Plan Guide for Growing Law Firms
Suggested Documentation Best Practices
Task Evaluation For An Efficient Law Practice
Disclaimer
Daniels-Head Insurance Agency (DHIA) seeks thoughts and insights from a variety of individuals and organizations in the industry. The guest content on this blog represents the individual opinion of the author and not that of DHIA. Nor is it the opinion of DHIA’s underwriters and business partners. Neither DHIA nor DHIA’s business partners are recommending, endorsing, or sponsoring any companies, or third parties mentioned in this blog.
Managing expenses is critical for small law firms and small businesses. But you can’t neglect cyber security and basic effectiveness of your IT systems. Plan for success. That starts with knowing your options.
Zac Wilcoxen runs Pretect managed IT services. He brings big-company IT expertise to small businesses – even solo practitioner law firms. Zac sat down for an interview and answered the following questions:
- What’s the role of the IT team in a cyberattack?
- Is a Managed IT service worth the cost?
- What are the services offered by a Managed IT provider?
- How does a Managed IT provider increase efficiency?
- Is there a way to calculate the cost of downtime from a ransomware attack?
- How does a Managed IT provider work with remote employees?
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More Resources:
Cyber Liability Self-Assessment
Download the Client Relations Checklist
Business Plan Guide for Growing Law Firms
Suggested Documentation Best Practices
Task Evaluation For An Efficient Law Practice
Disclaimer
Daniels-Head Insurance Agency (DHIA) seeks thoughts and insights from a variety of individuals and organizations in the industry. The guest content on this blog represents the individual opinion of the author and not that of DHIA. Nor is it the opinion of DHIA’s underwriters and business partners. Neither DHIA nor DHIA’s business partners are recommending, endorsing, or sponsoring any companies, or third parties mentioned in this blog.
Law school does not prepare you for the business side of running a law firm.
Understanding the fundamental components of developing a business plan for your law firm is essential to success. In this week’s episode we go over creating business plan objectives and the 5 key components to designing your Law Firm Business Plan.
We created a guided template that you can use to jump start your plan! Go get your free copy and let’s go through these items together: https://hubs.ly/Q021H3Dp0
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More Resources:
Cyber Liability Self-Assessment
In this episode we are re-evaluating the pricing structures of law firms. Are you still solely relying on time sheets to bill your clients? You won’t want to miss this episode.Listen in as we go over the downsides of time sheets, the upsides of project-based pricing, and where time sheets may always have their place.
Enjoy better relationships with your clients and a competitive edge for your law practice. We will also be sharing 5 steps for setting up a winning pricing model for your law firm!
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More Resources:
Cyber Liability Self-Assessment
Those who work in an organized office are more efficient and productive than those who work in a messy space. Your firm is likely one of your biggest assets and largest revenue production source, so it is safe to say that it’s worth the extra time to keep it tidy.
Listen to this week’s episode for quick tips to tackle the organization gaps in your office.
- Clean It Up
- De-Clutter
- Remove
- Organize
- Create a Filing System
- Don’t Forget Technology
- Look at the Layout
- Be Personally Organized
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More Resources:
Task Evaluation For An Efficient Law Practice
Business Plan Guide for Growing Law Firms
Suggested Documentation Best Practices
Download the Client Relations Checklist
The Lawyers MBA Series (The Missing Course from Law School)
Lawyers are in a field that requires them to give to society. However, lawyers still need to make money. So, are Free Consultations right for your law practice?
In today’s episode, we are going over 3 advantages and 3 disadvantages of Free Consultations and the types of cases where you can offer them.
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More Resources:
Task Evaluation For An Efficient Law Practice
Business Plan Guide for Growing Law Firms
Suggested Documentation Best Practices
Download the Client Relations Checklist
The Lawyers MBA Series (The Missing Course from Law School)
Building trust with new clients is paramount, and it is what makes word of mouth the most powerful marketing tool for any business. Referrals and testimonials are how current clients branch the trust between you and others who may need your services.
Listen to this week’s episode to go over some tips to start receiving client referrals. We’re going over how receiving referrals begins with the quality of your service, how vital the timing of your request is, and how to ask for referrals and testimonials. Plus, we’re sharing one important tip many businesses miss!
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More Resources:
Business Plan Guide for Growing Law Firms
The way we communicate is constantly evolving, and this presents new challenges that can put attorney-client privilege at risk.
In this episode, we will be sharing two lists of best practices that can help you mitigate these risks by adopting efficient communication and data storage practices. While these lists are not comprehensive, they will provide you with a starting point to ensure that your attorney-client privilege remains secure.
NOTE: Consult with your state and local bar to verify you are meeting rules specific to your area.
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More Resources:
Business Plan Guide for Growing Law Firms
There are many reasons why billing is more difficult than it used to be. Adapting your billing practices can help you stay competitive.
Tune in to this week’s episode as we go over five quick tips to help you tackle the challenges of billing in your law firm.
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More Resources:
Cyber Liability Self-Assessment
Email has become an essential tool for communication. And in recent years, many organizations have faced legal action due to email messages. These lawsuits can arise from various allegations.
In this episode, we are going over 7 key items to include in your email disclaimer. Listen to this quick episode for an overview before grabbing your Email Disclaimer Worksheet at https://hubs.ly/Q021H3f_0
The seven areas of concern when it comes to liability for electronic communication are:
- Breach of Confidentiality
- Accidental Breach of Confidentiality
- Transmission of Viruses
- Entering into Contracts
- Negligent Misstatement
- Vicarious Liability of the Employer
- Legal Compliance
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More Resources:
Cyber Liability Self-Assessment
In this episode, we are going over the five basic categories of Alternative Fee Arrangements (AFA) for law firms.
- Contingency
- Flat fee
- Capped fees
- Holdback
- Blended fees
Are AFAs a Good Idea?
The answer is yes and no.
Creating a symbiotic relationship with clients to determine the most appropriate fee arrangement is key to ensuring the fee method chosen will be consistent with your goals as well as the goals of your client.
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More Resources:
Suggested Documentation Best Practices
Diverse members of the firm can play a critical role in the leadership of the firm. Having a diversity committee in your law firm will help ensure that you are looking for and working with outstanding lawyers from diverse backgrounds. This committee will identify and address challenges in four areas: mentoring, work opportunity and environment, education, and communication.
In this episode, we hit on four purposes for having a diversity committee and several initiatives for the committee to foster communication about diversity issues and education.
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More Resources:
Suggested Documentation Best Practices
As regulations change, the legal services industry is becoming a buyer’s market, requiring law firms to adapt their business models. However, adopting an entrepreneurial mindset doesn’t necessarily come naturally.
Tip #1: Embrace technology.
Effectively leveraging the latest software can fundamentally change how your firm handles common lower-value services.
Free, is a word that lawyers tend to find foreign. However, giving away previously charged services can lead to massive customer acquisition benefits.
Firms who don’t adapt to the changes coming to the legal industry will see customer acquisition become much more difficult.
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More Resources:
Cyber Liability Self-Assessment
Many lawyers believe that good work will draw business or that legal marketing requires a lot of money. They are incorrect; people need reminders, and you don’t need to break your budget to get your name out there.
In this episode, we are sharing sixteen creative marketing ideas to help you take your law practice to the next level for little to no cost.
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More Resources:
12 Marketing Ideas for Attorneys
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