Features

Focusing on Client Retention May Mean Restructuring the Firm
<b><i>Law Firms Should Double Down on Their Existing Clients By Focusing on Client Satisfaction and Retention Rates Rather Than Billable Hours and Origination Credits</b></i><p>New client acquisition can cost 15 times more than retaining an existing client, and yet most lawyers spend their limited and valuable time chasing new clients.
Features

Prior Salary Can't Justify Gender Wage Gap
<b><i>“To Hold Otherwise — to Allow Employers to Capitalize on the Persistence of the Wage Gap and Perpetuate That Gap Ad Infinitum — Would Be Contrary to the Text and History of the Equal Pay Act,” Judge Stephen Reinhardt Wrote for the Majority</b></i><p>The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled on April 9 that salary history cannot be used to justify a wage gap between men and women, in a case that employee advocates said highlights a key issue that has institutionalized gender compensation inequities.
Features

<i>Online Extra:</i> How the Supreme Court's Online Sales Tax Case Could Affect Law Firms
A tax nightmare could face big law firms and other multistate service providers if the U.S. Supreme Court this term requires retailers to collect sales taxes in states where the business has no physical presence.
Features

11 Factors to Collecting Attorney Fees on a Timely Basis
Most of the time, delayed payments are a result of actions by the law firms themselves. Let's take a look at 11 factors impacting the collection of attorney fees on a timely basis and how to avoid these mistakes.
Features

The Topography of a Strong Attorney Biography
<b><i>Part One of a Two-Part Article</b></i><p>Attorneys are generally not great salespeople (caveat: some are <i>great</i> salespeople, aka rainmakers) and they are often introverts. While lawyers may like to speak about themselves, many are not effective in <i>how</i> to speak about themselves and their work in a way that is appealing to clients.
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'Competitive Intelligence:' CI Is Another Tool in Marketing's Arsenal for Practice Group Planning
It's the budgeting and planning time of year. And, if the legal industry literature is anything to go by, strategies are in for law firms. A well-defined and well-communicated strategy provides a tangible way for law firms to identify their strengths and differentiators.
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DOL's New Rules on ERISA Claims Procedure for Disability Benefits
The Department of Labor (DOL) issued regulations that revise the ERISA claims procedure regulations for employee benefit plans that provide disability benefits. The scope of the new regulations are broader than you may realize and apply to any plan, regardless of how it is characterized, that provides benefits or rights that are contingent on whether the plan determines an individual to be disabled.
Features

The Death of the Law Firm Partnership Vote?
<b><i>With an Eye on Efficiency, Firms Are Ditching Old Methods for a More Corporate Form of Governance</b></i><p>A growing number of firms in the United States and the United Kingdom are eschewing historical partnership norms in favor of more centralized management, and with that comes fewer and fewer partnership votes.
Features

'Professional Development:' Embracing and Improving Your Leadership Style
To achieve your highest potential, to be more “actualized,” you must embrace your leadership style. What is your style? Are you an Achiever, Affirmer, or Asserter? Which of the Nine Attributes of Actualized Leaders do you need to focus on to improve your leadership?
Features

Adding Value with a Client Visit Initiative
The increasing competition in the legal industry highlights the importance of differentiation and adding value beyond the work product. Face-to-face interactions with clients are a critical component in differentiation because they provide the opportunity to understand better the nuances of clients' businesses, develop deeper relationships, and drive productive collaboration.
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