Chuck Newton

Stop Selling Your Practice Area And Start Selling Results

First, let me say that I understand many attorneys take offense at the thought that they are selling anything.  I know the spiel.  "We are professionals".  Save me the wag of the finger and do not write me if you are offended by my statement that attorneys sell services.  If I offend you with this, I apologize.  But, it is true.

When attorneys shows up in Court looking their best, when they place a sign outside their offices, when they have stationary printed up (does anybody still do that), when they go to group meetings, take out a yellow page listings, start practice blogs, send out emails, or mail thank you notes they are selling.  And, if that is not what you are doing, then my question is why in the hell not?

I make it a point not to sell at church, but then I know a number of wills, trusts and estate attorneys that do.  (I am not naming names, so do not worry).  It is called network marketing or relationship marketing, but it is selling nonetheless.

Call it what you will.  Whether it is marketing, or advertising, or speech making, or showboating, or whatever, its purpose, ultimately, is to get paying clients through the front door (or in my case over the phone, fax or email).

Hot Damn, The State Bar Of Texas Has A Blog!

I always like to see bar associations and other lawyer regulatory agencies come into the modern age.  The  State Bar of Texas might not always be on the cutting edge of things, but it is usually not too far behind.  It is nice to see it enter the world of blawging.  The Texas Bar Blog will feature the lawyers and legal professionals of Texas and breaking State Bar news. The blog also includes a list of blogs by Texas lawyers, and our Twitter, Flickr, and Vimeo feeds.  Now I have to admit that the Texas Bar website has always had blog like features, but this blog is more universal.  Way to go State Bar of Texas.  Keep up the good work.

Marketing Is An Investment

This statement is proof positive,is it not, that most lawyers and law firms are bad, bad, bad at investing.  Most open their doors, take out a yellow book ad or something, and bemoan the bad times. They are not out pounding, pounding, pounding the pavement, making contact, getting in front of people, and generally making themselves known.

First, most lawyers and law firm are looking during these hard times to cut back on their marketing expenses.  Second, most assume that marketing takes a lot of money.  Both concepts means they just do not get it.  You should take advantage of this fact.

I once represented an electronics company that fell on hard times.  Its solution was to terminate its entire sales staff to save money -- its entire commissioned sales staff.  I do not have to tell you what happened after that.  Cutting back on marketing during this recession is tantamount to the same thing.

Whether it is time or money, however, it is in times like these that lawyers and law firms need to increase their marketing.  This investment will pay off dearly in the future, especially after the economy recovers.

Let us face facts.  Especially in the area of networking or relationship marketing, it is sometimes hard to pry referral sources away from those they have been use to helping out with their referrals.  Economic downturns tend to turn these relationships on their heads.  It is hard to break these relationships during good time when everyone is fat and sassy.  When everyone is having a bad time that attorney someone or some company refers to is just not that good, or just not that dependable, or just not that reliable, or there just needs to be change.

Also, the palace guards at companies, organizations, in-house legal departments are leaving, retiring, or being transferred.  So, the possibility of referrals becomes wide open.

When lawyers and law firms sit on their hands, and do not more aggressively get out there in front of people, groups and organizations they need, they are not investing in growth.  In short, if these people, groups and organization do not know the lawyer or firm exist, you are screwed even if they are considering a change in their referral practices.

And, do not think for a minute that just because they have referred business or cases or clients to you in the past that they know you now.  I cannot tell you how many time I have stopped receiving referrals from a source only to call up their place of business and not be recognized by the new staff.

Remember, marketing is the process of accretion.  It works gradually to buildup growth.  So, the more consistently you invest time and/or money, the better will be your long-term return.

So, now is the time to dramatically increase your marketing, not reduce it.  It is time to leave those other lawyers and firms wondering what happened.

Video Of Part Of The Ultimate Home Office

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Oh The Pain! Oh The Opportunity!

I am not sure you need commercial office space to practice law, but if you think so now is the time to act.  Vacancy rates everywhere are rising and rising quickly.  America is overbuilt.  Demand is falling.  Many big cities are hurting in this regard.  No leases, no refinancing.  No refinancing, possible foreclosure.  All large cities are hurting, but some are worse than others.  It is an endless cycle.  ABC News lists America's Top 15 Emptiest Cities.  No major city in Texas made the list, but that is likely because our cities fall below the top 15.  If you cannot find what you are looking for in a flex space, consider starting your own co-working location.

The Blind Leading The Blind In Applying To Law School

I have to admit that I have not thought about it much, which just shows my woeful lack of knowledge or perspective on the difficulties of the blind trying to apply to law school in this age of the web based application process.

The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and a blind law school applicant filed suit against the U.S. body that administers the law school admissions test because its website is inaccessible to blind applicants.

According to the suit, the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) violates the California Disabled Persons Act and the Unruh Act because its Web site and LSAT preparation materials are inaccessible to blind law school applicants.

"The LSAC is engaging in blatant discrimination against the blind and we will not stand for it," NFB President Dr. Marc Maurer said.

Deepa Goroya, the blind applicant and plaintiff in the suit, claimed that trying to use the LSAC Web site made the experience of applying to law school a nightmare for him. "I had to select and rely upon a reader for over 50 hours to complete my law school applications," he said.

The LSAC Web site has accessibility barriers including improperly formatted online forms, tables and charts that cannot be read by screen access software, and faulty keyboard navigation support. "These access barriers make it difficult or impossible for blind people to use the Web site to register to take the LSAT, among other things," according to NFB.

Goroya said the legal action aims to make the process of gaining admission to law school to be easier for all blind people who are interested in a career as a lawyer.

Thinking Small

In my heyday of pursuing the big dream there was an older attorney in Texarkana, Texas named Buddy Britt who like to tell people, "Chuck is like the farmer who says 'I don't want to own all of the land, just the land next to mine'".

When you think about it, that's pretty funny.  My goal as a young attorney was empire building.  Back then you probably could not open a newspaper, phone book, mail, or turn on a TV without me soliciting you to consolidate and lower your debts if your were in financial trouble.  I have always been friendly to my fellow lawyers, but I have to admit that down deep I wanted to out do them.  I wanted to be on top.

When I talk to lawyers today that try to explain to me why they need support staff and an associate and this great new space, and a bunch of cases they cannot themselves handle, I know that they have not gotten empire building out of their minds.  They deny it, but I know the warning signs because I have lived it.

It is a vice really.  It is a corruption of virtue at least to some small extent.  Maybe it is a mental stew of most vices when you think about it.  Lust or the non-use of temperance.  Cowardice or the non-sue of courage.  Folly or the abuse of wisdom.  Venality or the non-use of justice.  All I can say is that it exist in all of us to some degree, and with trial lawyers maybe more so.  You have to ask why we do such things, and most often it is really nothing more than a certain type of pride or idolatry of self.

I really do not mean this to be a religious lesson, or to suggest that the Third Wave represents some type of sanctifying grace, or that empire building is somehow a habit inclining one to sin.  But, I have to wonder as I read about the exploits of Bernie Madoff and Allen Stanford of late if they suffered from the same thoughts of empire building that possess so many?  I have to think so.

Expresso Book Machine 2.0 For Commercial Rollout

Produce perfectly bound paperback books at the point of sale.

Wow, I am not sure what this says about a paperless society overall, but it certainly has its benefits.  At least it eliminates the use of paper that is not presently in demand.  It would cut down or eliminate the cost and carbon needed to transport tons of books to stores and libraries all across the Nation.

Think about a bookstore or library that never runs out of your favorite or needed book.  I cannot tell you, for example, how many times I had to go to our big box bookstores looking for a book assigned by the teacher of one of my children.  The book never existed by the time my child told me of the assignment because the big box only had 10 copies of the book and the school assignment affected a couple hundred students.  No more, now "1984", or "Hamlet", "The Great Gatsby" or whatever takes only a few minutes to manufacture on the spot.

Think about text books in college.  It has to be revolutionary to some degree.  (By the way, my daughter had to purchase four books for law school this semester, and they cost almost $750.00).

Sure, I think that most of these books, especially school books, are unnecessary.  Students should be given netbooks and teaching materials should be provided by coming the Web.  Google Education if you will.  But, I understand the codgers, the retros, the fundamentalist, the Amish-like among us are not ready to let go of paper or the past.  Some are still in the dial phone age.  And, I know in some situations paper is necessary, still.

In the mean time there is EBM 2.O.

Ave Maria School Of Law Wins

Ave Maria School of Law has had its detractors.  It is hard to understand why.  Certainly part of it is that it is a serious Catholic institution and its moral philosophy disturbs a few.  But, ultimately it is a private  institution, with a good bar passage rate, and it gives out a large number of scholarships.  Simply put, if someone does not agree with its moral compass, do not apply and do not attend the law school.  It is that simple, end of story.  There are many more law schools from which to chose. 

The rest of the controversy stems from Ave Maria's decision to move its law school from Ann Arbor, Michigan to Naples, Florida, so it can be closer to its sister university that has been established, Ave Maria University.  Ave Maria also believes Naples offers its graduates a better environment and opportunities.  Some of its former faculty and students have not agreed with the decision and appear to have worked tirelessly to cost the law school in a number of ways.  Maybe one of the indirect ways it has done so is to try and cost the law school its full accreditation as a result of the move.

That battle seems to be finally won by Ave Maria.  According to the Corporate Legal Times, Ave Maria has won approval from the ABA to relocate to Naples, Florida, which means it will retain full accreditation after the relocation.  The relocation is expected to take place in July.

Ave Maria is a solid law school and deserves your consideration if you are considering law school.

Hiring Contract Attorneys

We speak a lot here about collaboration as a substitute for building a large, bulky, high overhead law firm.  Often the way we propose is to simply associate with attorneys and divide the work out for varying percentages of the overall case.  You are not necessarily involved in a partnership in this situation, but you are often regularly associated with each other.  Revenues go up, everyone makes more.  Revenues go down, everyone shares the pain.

Another solution might be contract or freelance attorneys.  Jason Goodwin recently posted about the 5 Reasons to Hire a Freelance or Contract Attorney.  Visit his website by Clicking Here.  Jason expands on the reasons on his blog, but below are the five reasons:

1)  Increase profitability.

2)  Deliver more value to your clients.

3)  Utilize your time more strategically.

4)  Increase flexibility and manage risk.

5)  Supplement your skill sets.

Each of these points probably relate as well as to the why you should collaborate.

(Picture is of Jason Goodwin)