Law Firm Management

CLIENT CO-MARKETING CONCLUDED - What else do inside counsel want?

The popularity of the practice group — an entity within a firm comprised of those who practice a specific area of law or serve a specific industry — is well grounded, in that it opens a number of advantages to managing a practice and better serving clients. But so complex and management sensitive are practice groups that they open, as well, the easy propensity to misuse the practice group concept in a classic case of poor management canceling the value of a good concept.

A couple of years ago, Bill Payne of Dorsey & Whitney LLP invited me to come to Minneapolis on two weekends in mid-winter. Not for a retreat or winter sports, but to meet with partners in their office on Saturdays. Payne was then the head of the M&A Group and he explained: 'We do a lot of mid-market deals, many with similar dynamics, documents and time pressures. Yet, each deal seems to be run like we were starting from scratch. We reinvent the wheel. We do wonderful individual work, sometimes under crisis conditions, but we don't seem to pull together as a team.' He wanted more teamwork, more project planning, and more learning from each deal. I jumped at the chance to facilitate the partners' discussions. Any firm that values matter management to this degree must be serious.

Last month, we identified select law firm issues that can significantly impact the cost and speed of the entire case lifecycle. In addition, we offered some viable solutions to these problems. In Part Two, we cover some of the concerns related to outsourcing versus in-house handling of certain litigation goods and services and how firms are operating.

CLIENT CO-MARKETING CONT'D. - Following up on our last blog, what else will in house counsel appreciate your asking? There are many more subtle tools at your disposal which will contribute to relationship building.

CLIENT CO-MARKETING - This new topic covers how to "co-market" with your client. To be sure, marketing the law firm is not an us-them proposition. How you can recruit inside counsel and even CEO's as parties to your own marketing and business development efforts is explored.

SELECTION - This is the fourth and final criterion a law firm team needs to identify when pursuing a client. Just what concerns and experiences will be influencing final selection? If you have mastered the other 3 Red Zone components, HIDDEN DECISION MAKING, RELATIONSHIPS AND RETENTION, and PERSONAL CONSIDERATIONS, let's explore SELECTION.

SELECTION - This is the fourth and final criterion a law firm team needs to identify when pursuing a client. Just what concerns and experiences will be influencing final selection? If you have mastered the other 3 Red Zone components, HIDDEN DECISION MAKING, RELATIONSHIPS AND RETENTION, and PERSONAL CONSIDERATIONS, let's explore SELECTION.