Money Changes Everything
October 31, 2006
Very few attorneys really understand what their hourly rates mean to a client. It is not a number, according to Peter Darling, a former litigator and current CA-based business-development consultant. Few clients select their lawyers based on fees. Rather, the decision is usually driven by emotion.
<b>Technology In Marketing: </b> Spam and Filters
October 31, 2006
The increasing use of filters by companies to block spam has a downside for law firms engaged in legitimate e-mail marketing ' an increased risk that their e-mails will be improperly labeled as spam and either blocked entirely or routed to users' junk (bulk mail) folders and never read.
Note from the Editor
October 31, 2006
As I mentioned in my last Note from the Editor, this month marks the premiere of a new column for managing partners of law firms. 'Corner Office,' written by Mel Morrione, will provide insight into the world of managing partners and how their role impacts, among other things, marketing, business development, communications, growth and professional development. This month, Mel, who joins our Board of Editors, provides an overview of the role of the managing partner.…
Attorney Buy-In
October 31, 2006
'You need to get lawyer buy-in.' An oxymoron? You bet. If you have any doubts, read David Maister's 'The Trouble with Lawyers' (The American Lawyer, April 2006). Still, pretty much everyone on the firm's marketing staff will hear this refrain frequently. It's well meant, but it's also code for 'please don't expect me to take full responsibility for your hair-brained marketing idea.' Of course, this never happens at Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, the progressive firm where I toil (right!), but I'm told it's fairly common at stodgy, traditional firms. <br>There are ways to tackle this challenge. Some are actually fun, if you allow yourself to plot imaginatively.
<b>Corner Office: </b>Who's Running The Store?
October 31, 2006
To understand why many managing partners might have difficulty answering this question, one needs to examine the resource pool within law firms from which managing partners are chosen. Among the popular choices are: those with the biggest books of business, the most widely recognized reputations, the best rainmakers, the best lawyers and the most effective client service partners. Most partners feel that anyone who has attained any of those levels practicing law ought to be just as proficient at running a law firm. Not quite!
How to Stand Out from the Crowd
October 31, 2006
The language is clear: 'An advertisement or solicitation shall not depict the use of a courtroom or courthouse.' While using a courthouse in an ad for your law firm may be a clich' ' and fail to set you apart from the competition ' it hardly seems intuitive that doing so would violate advertising guidelines. That will be the case in New York, if a proposed rule goes into effect this month. Across the country, advertising rules continue to evolve, so pinpointing how to best spend your marketing dollars can be challenging.
Case Briefs
October 30, 2006
Highlights of the latest insurance cases from around the country.
Maximizing Coverage Under the 'Cause Test'
October 30, 2006
The determination of the number of occurrences that arise under an insurance policy can have a profound effect on the availability of coverage, from the perspective of the policyholder, or upon the limitation of coverage, from the perspective of the insurer. Although the stakes can be enormous, the math is fairly simple. Consider a policyholder that faces a large liability arising from a substantial number of small claims. If the policyholder has a coverage program that provides a low per-occurrence deductible or self-insured retention, or no per-occurrence deductible or self-insured retention, a judicial determination that there are many occurrences likely will have the effect of maximizing the policyholder's recovery. On the other hand, if that same policyholder has a coverage program with a high per-occurrence deductible or self-insured retention, which may exceed the amount of most if not all of the single claims, a judicial determination that the claims constitute a single occurrence likely will maximize the policyholder's recovery.
Is Defective Workmanship an 'Occurrence'?
October 30, 2006
Last month, we discussed the fact that under the terms of a standard Commercial General Liability ('CGL') policy, an insurance company must defend and indemnify its insured for claims of property damage resulting from an 'occurrence' subject to certain enumerated policy exclusions. We went on to enumerate differences in various states' jurisdictions, from California to Florida to Illinois. This Part continues the examination of various states' case law.
Business Interruption Insurance and the 'Cessation or Suspension' Rule
October 30, 2006
Commercial entities placing first-party insurance often seek to insure physical loss or damage to their property and the loss of earnings directly arising from that loss or damage. Insurance against such loss of earnings is typically addressed through a 'Business Interruption' provision that is intended, as some courts have said, ''to do for the business what the business would have done for itself had no loss occurred'' to the insured's property. <i>Protection Mutual Ins. Co. v. Mitsubishi Silicon Am. Corp.</i>, 992 P.2d 479, 481 (Or. Ct. App. 1999) (quoting <i>A&S Corp. v. Centennial Ins. Corp.</i>, 242 F. Supp. 584, 589 (N.D. Ill. 1965). While insurance policy wording can vary, <i>see Protection Mutual</i>, 992 P.2d at 481, broker manuscript and insurer forms require that an insured peril cause physical loss or damage to insured property, creating a 'necessary interruption' or 'necessary suspension' of the business. Some claimants and commentators argue that this insurance applies to any downturn or slowdown in business following loss or damage, but it is well-settled in case law that there must be a complete cessation or suspension in order to qualify for business interruption coverage.
