The Modern Firm, LLC

Keeping good clients is important for the financial health and viability of every firm. According to a survey performed by BTI Consulting of Boston, law firms that actively track and measure client retention see 12% higher profits per attorney. Client retention rates are key indicators of client satisfaction. And we all know that a happy client doesn’t leave their law firm.

However, most law firms are still not monitoring their client retention rate. If you do nothing else in marketing this year, I strongly suggest you start your marketing program here. (more…)

There is a common misconception in a large segment of the legal profession that marketing equates to advertising and spending a lot of money. That couldn’t be more wrong. Marketing in law firms is all about sweating the details. The details cost you a little extra time and attention, but can deliver big dividends to your firm down the road. It is the best way to differentiate your firm from others.

Most important for every law firm are your relationships with clients. It’s the trust your clients develop in you, your knowledge of their business and industry, your responsiveness, anticipation of client needs, and, of course, the results you deliver. (more…)

I’m often asked by law firms to assist them in determining whether their advertising programs are cost-effective. Yellow Pages advertising is heavily used by small and mid-size law firms, primarily with consumer oriented practices. In fact, attorneys are the #1 category of advertising expenditures in the Yellow Pages, followed by doctors, insurance and dentists.

If you are running ads in the Yellow Pages, are they working for you? (more…)

Without a doubt, clients can be your best source of referrals. Yet in my 18 years of marketing work with lawyers, I have met few who actually ask clients for referrals.

Some may believe that their clients will automatically refer business to them if the opportunity should arise and therefore, there is no need for the lawyer to ask. Others may be reluctant to ask a client for fear that the client would say no because they may not have been completely satisfied with some aspect of the lawyer’s handling of their case.

If you want to increase your business, get in the habit of asking your clients for referrals. (more…)

There are many reasons why a law firm should have a website but few of them apply across all firm types and sizes as well as referral conversion and online image control. If you do not have a website, there is no telling what will appear when a prospective client searches for your name. In fact, check yourself out by visiting Google and searching for yourself.

Put yourself in the shoes of a prospective client. If they have your name from a referral and decide to look you up online, what to they see, in what order to they see it, and is it easy to find you? If the answers to those questions aren’t coming up in your favor, you’re losing the best type of business there is.

To learn more about the benefits of websites for attorneys and law firms, continue to explore our website and our work. Or, simply give us a call and pick our brains, we’re always happy to talk.

Reprinted With Permission of Minnesota Lawyer

Assessing your law firm’s online marketing strategy

A Website need not be elaborate to be effective

By Michelle Lore | August 14, 2006
michelle.lore@minnlawyer.com

View PDF Copy of this article

There is no good reason for a law firm not to have a Website, at least according to Web designer Brendan Chard, who last week spoke at a MinnCLE conference devoted to solo and small firm practitioners.

A Website need not be elaborate to be effective, Chard told the crowded room of attorneys. “The primary information your Website needs to include is who you are, why you are great and how to get in touch with you,” he said.

Chard’s comments were made during “Websites and Online Marketing: Make Them Work For You” one of many continuing legal education (CLE) seminars offered at the second Strategic Solutions for Solo and Small Firms conference in Duluth. The 2 ½ day event was sponsored by Minnesota CLE. (more…)

Lawyers tend to forget that law is a service industry. Clients have a myriad of choices for their legal representation. By focusing on client service, lawyers can better retain current clients, gain more referrals, and minimize the risk of ethics complaints.

By Roy S. Ginsburg

If you ask attorneys whether their clients are satisfied, most would, of course, say yes. If you then ask them “What makes you so sure?” the responses would typically range from “They don’t complain” to “They’re nice to me” to “They pay their bills” to “They continue to do business with us.” But statistics indicate otherwise. Such client behavior hardly translates into satisfaction:

• In 2005, a national consulting firm polled Fortune 1000 clients to determine client satisfaction. Only 30 percent of clients said they would recommend their primary law firm.1

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Pro bono service is frequently considered a selfless act, the “right thing to do.” But can a selfless act also be selfish? With respect to pro bono service, the answer is yes. While many attorneys volunteer legal services, few seem to recognize that performing pro bono work often yields substantial practical economic benefits for themselves, their organizations, and the profession as a whole. In short, when it comes to pro bono service, “it pays to be good.”

“Pro bono” means “for the public good.” Historically, a certain segment of the legal profession felt responsible to ensure equal access to the legal system in the hope that justice would not become a concept that was simply bought and sold. This responsibility is partially derived from a social contract between lawyers and society. Society provides an exclusive license to individuals who want to practice law, thereby offering lucrative career opportunities for many. In return, lawyers give something back to society; that “something” is pro bono service.

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Executive coaching, a professional development tool that combines strategic consulting and problem-solving counseling to help professionals set and reach their business and/or personal goals, has in the past decade found much support in the business community. Managers in corporations, including blue chip companies such as IBM, AT&T and Kodak, are realizing its benefits. Lawyers on the other hand, are just now becoming familiar with the concept.

That the coaching trend is more prevalent in corporate America than in the legal profession is no surprise. Historically, law firms have followed the lead of their corporate clients on implementing management and operational innovations. For example, most companies were using email and Web sites long before law firms got on board. Coaching has proven to be no different for a variety of reasons.
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Proposed changes to the Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct regarding marketing and professional communications call for modest adjustments in existing rules while encouraging effective client relations.

by Roy S. Ginsburg and Kenneth F. Kirwin

Business development. You keep reading about its importance to your career. You keep hearing about it from other lawyers in your firm and other professional colleagues. So you finally decide to do something about it. Everyone has told you that the key is networking. First stop: your law school alma mater-sponsored cocktail reception. You figure, this shouldn’t be too awkward; chances are pretty good you’ll run into someone you know and, sure enough, you do. (more…)