Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
It’s hard to imagine a more perfect opportunity for legal marketing professionals to earn a seat at the leadership table than the pricing revolution happening today in our industry. No longer a necessity of the latest recessionary period, alternative fee arrangements, or AFAs, are becoming increasingly more routine for businesses seeking to better manage their outside legal spend. The most progressive firms are developing sophisticated tools to help price AFAs, investing in legal project management training for lawyers, and analyzing the profitability of matters managed outside of the traditional billable hour.
While most firms take a collaborative approach in their strategic AFA development process by including members of finance, accounting, IT, and practice and office leadership, let us not forget that price is one of the “four P’s of marketing.”
As law firms large and small develop AFA strategies, implement and measure results, it’s imperative that the marketing department be an integral part of the process at all stages of the cycle. Done right, AFAs can be both highly profitable as well as a powerful competitive differentiator to the legal buyer. Below are a few areas where marketing can add significant value in the AFA process.
Educating Lawyers on AFA Structures, Terms and Formulas
Despite the fact that AFAs are expected to comprise 13.4% of all fees billed in 2012, according to a Citi Private Bank managing partner survey, many lawyers are still standing at the starting line when it comes to understanding these new pricing structures. Much of this confusion is due to the seemingly endless number of ways certain types of work can be managed, and how the shifting of risk can create value in the eyes of clients.
Marketing can alleviate this paralysis by helping define and aggregate details on common types of AFAs, and sharing this information at the outset of preparing a tailored fee agreement. These kinds of details might include:
Continue reading by getting
started with a subscription.
What Every Lawyer's Client Needs to Know About Succession Planning
By Nanette Miner
I often run into business people who are confused about the differences between succession planning and exit planning. You are in the unique position of being able to guide your clients through the confusion.
What We Should Have Learned from COVID: Communicate
By Mark Santiago
First COVID Lesson: Leaders should communicate regularly to their firms in a more personal way, let their personality shine through, show some vulnerability and maybe reveal that they own a dog.
Using Collaborative Content Development Highlights Lawyers Expertise
By Meg Pritchard
The goal of a collaborative content approach is to fill resource gaps in the content process, from concept through creation to publication or release, so that more and better content gets to the right audiences.
Can Clients Protect Communications Between Their Lawyers and PR Firms?
By Jonathan B. New, Patrick T. Campbell and Rachel H. Ofori
This article summarizes how courts view communications between a company’s counsel and its PR firm during investigations in the context of privilege and provides practical insights and tips for counsel to maintain privilege over such communications.